Toby Keith doesn’t let it rain on his Red Rock Resort parade

Toby Keith doesn’t let it rain on his Red Rock Resort parade

Some things in life are worth the wait. Add Toby Keith to that list. After a more than two-hour delay due to lightning and rain Saturday night, the country superstar hit the Red Rock Resort Amphitheater stage to a resounding roar from concertgoers at his “Live in Overdrive Tour” stop.
It was the same roar that erupted when it was announced shortly after 10 p.m. over the intercom system inside Red Rock Resort that the concert was still a go. (Incidentally, the Bloc Party and Santigold show at Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas also was delayed, while the All-American Rejects and Eve 6 continued as planned, except that fans weren’t allowed in the pool at Mandalay Bay Beach.)
The rain cooled the outside temperature in Summerlin, and Keith fans were ready to party with their red Solo cups and large, plastic white Red Rock Resort sippy cups filled with drinks and flashing-light “ice cubes” by tour sponsor Belvedere vodka and its attractive and friendly staff. Despite the delay, the crowd was more than 95 percent retained post-evacuation, and the mix of cowboys, cowgirls, beach boys and clubgoers was surprisingly free of public intoxication (at least in this journalist’s immediate area).
The evening was everything one would expect from a concert by Keith, whose Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill is at Harrah’s: an energetic, yet chill party atmosphere; a lot of No. 1 hits (he’s had 22 of them, so far); an, ahem, sprinkling of F-bombs (despite there being children in the audience); and a big, heaping and unapologetic dose of patriotism from the conservative Democrat turned Independent. However, not many boots, chaps and cowboy hats, surprisingly.
The set list included “American Life,” “Beers Ago,” “I Wanna Talk About Me,” “Whiskey Girl” (with opening act Brantley Gilbert), “Who’s Your Daddy?” “Red Solo Cup,” “As Good As I Once Was,” “I Love This Bar,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action.” Keith slowed it down with a ballad for his encore, pulled a young man onstage who held up an American flag sign that included the words “Coast Guard Sandoval” and ended the night with “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (the Angry American).”
Two hilarious songs that will never be recorded were two highlights of the evening: “Smoking Weed With Willie Nelson” and “Get Out of Your Clothes, or Get Out of My Car.” The often-controversial and outspoken Keith kept his political views in check for the night, instead giving fans what they needed -- a big party after waiting more than two hours, and he delivered. Keith thanked firefighters and the military (and their families) for their service and sacrifice and toasted to “whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.”
The lightning and rain put the kibosh on Gilbert, but Keith graciously invited his opener onstage for a few songs, and the audience happily received the singer, who showed off his guns in a black tank top. One brilliant stage prop: Keith’s microphone stand included a holder for his red Solo cup. Filler up!