Luke Bryan Plays In The Dirt

Luke Bryan plays in the dirt before rowdy dancin' crowd at sold-out Rodeo

Thursday’s show was a series of moments that illustrated why Bryan just earned his fourth spot on RodeoHouston’s top 20 all-time attendance list.

Y'all ready to kick up a little dust?”

With that, we’re off! It’s a sold-out Luke Bryan show and it’s Thursday night at the rodeo.

Bryan has been waiting all year for this, and so have 75,082 of you. The show marked the fifth time he has taken to the rotating stage to play for a RodeoHouston crowd, and wouldn’t you know, he just couldn’t help himself to all of that open space in the dirt around the floor of NRG stadium.

It took him the whole set to get down there, and he flexed and gyrated plenty on the stage, but you knew the walk in the dirt was coming as soon as you heard the first notes of “Country Girl (Shake it for Me),” didn’t you?

You also probably knew that a muted barroom ballad like 2013’s “Drink a Beer” is the perfect time to wave around your Samsungs and your iPhones like so many Zippos in the cavernous stadium, but did you expect Bryan to cease the moment and ask for every light in the building to be turned off, save the luminous glow of those smartphones?

How about this: I bet you didn’t see a tribute to George Strait, the undisputed King of the Rodeo, coming. I sure didn’t.

Although Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town typically performs “Home Alone Tonight” with Bryan, she and that group won’t be at RodeoHouston until March 18, so we were treated to a few lines of Strait’s “The Cowboy Rides Away” instead. Bold move for a young gun like Bryan, but the sold out crowd showed their approval with a deafening applause..

Thursday’s show was a series of moments just like these, illustrating why Bryan just earned his fourth spot on RodeoHouston’s top 20 all-time attendance list (this show is No. 10 on the all-time list; he also ranks in the No. 3, No. 11 and No. 19 spots).

Bryan, winner of both ACM and CMA’s 2015 Entertainer of the Year award, couldn’t have been more grateful to be among so many supportive fans, and he took plenty of opportunities to express his gratitude for everything that RodeoHouston has done for him. “I’d like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for selling this wonderful place out on a Thursday night,” Bryan exclaimed in the middle of the show, "Thank you so much, Rodeo, thank you."

Bryan continued to express his thanks through music, treating the crowd to a high spirited take on “Play It Again,” a tried and true chart topper from 2013’s Crash My Party.

Surveying the fans throughout the show from my seat up high in the press box, I rarely saw anyone sitting down. Hips were swaying and heads were nodding, all for the sake of a good time.

I wonder how long Bryan can sustain this love affair with Houston’s rodeo crowd? I can see this lasting a while, because the only thing more comfortable than Luke Bryan in NRG stadium are the thousands of fans shaking whatever they’ve got for him.

Set list:

Rain is a Good Thing

Kick the Dust Up

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

Move

I See You

Crash My Party

Roller Coaster

Play it Again

Strip it Down

Home Alone Tonight

Huntin', Fishin', and Lovin' Everyday

Drink a Beer

That's My Kinda Night

Country Girl (Shake it for Me)

I Don't Want This Night to End/I Can't Feel My Face (Weekend Cover)

Bryan, winner of both ACM and CMA’s 2015 Entertainer of the Year award, couldn’t have been more grateful to be among so many supportive fans.

Photo by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

Bryan, winner of both ACM and CMA’s 2015 Entertainer of the Year award, couldn’t have been more grateful to be among so many supportive fans.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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