"Are you with me?!!?"

Cowboy Mouth did an hour and a half set outside the P-MAC (Pete Maravich Assembly Center) at 10:00 this morning, before the LSU/Arkansas game. I actually got up early, got dressed, and drove myself down to LSU in time to park and walk to the P-MAC for the show. And I don't know if it was the late night, the early morning, or the fact that I miss home so much, but I left there at 11:30 feeling like I'd been hit by a truck - in a good way. Cowboy Mouth did not disappoint. They brought it. If you haven't seen a CM show, I feel kind of sorry for you. They're not the most technical band in the world, nor the most poetic, but what they certainly are is 100% kick-arse rock and roll. I'm convinced that this country would not be so dependent upon foreign oil if we could somehow harness whatever it is that Fred LeBlanc has got, and gives to the crowd at a CM show. He's got this ability to get even casual fans and introverts up off their feet, and screaming at the top of their lungs. Pure energy. It really is a sight to see. It's actually kind of like church. Actually, it's indescribable. Everybody that's ever been has described it the same way - you can't understand unless you've been there - and it's true. The name Cowboy Mouth is from a play by Sam Shepard, that he co-wrote with Patti Smith, but the phrase first appears in a song by Bob Dylan. Today they played covers of The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again, Bruce Channel's Hey, Baby!, the state song of Louisiana - You Are My Sunshine, and Milkshake by Kelis. Come to think of it, they are kind of a cross between The Who, Governor Jimmie Davis, Tony Robbins, and the Tasmanian Devil. If you ever have a chance to check them out, you should - at least once.

After the show, I hooked up with my aunt and uncle, my cousin, and some of his friends because they had my ticket to the game. We tracked down one of my aunt's business partners, who helped get us the tickets, and they twisted our arm until we promised to tailgate with them. I stood there under the walkway of the P-MAC, and lo and behold, who should walk by but Fred LeBlanc, drummer, lead singer, and motivational screamer of Cowboy Mouth. I told him they had played a great show earlier, and shook his hand. Really nice guy. Then he stopped to tailgate with us for a while. It's difficult to be starstruck around somebody who's so normal, and is big and fat and has a plate full of barbecued chicken fingers and hot sausage in front of them. Oh - and a freakin' Diet Coke. Please, Fred. Please. Eventually, all three other members of the band had come by, and I had fallen completely in love with their new bass player chick. She's hot, dude. And she's in a band. Billy - this is like that time at the thing with the Wonder Woman, you know? Exactly - love at first sight.

Anyway, LSU played - and won, of course. Now we are the SEC West Champions. Next step in our quest for total nationwide league domination: defeat Georgia in the Georgia Dome next weekend. Our Tiger Shaolin is stronger than their Bulldog Shaolin. Flawless victory.