Dierks Better Than Tim: An Australian DBC Rep's Experience

Lee Kernaghan, Dierks Bentley & Dan Hochhalter, Brisbane, March 10

Dierks Bentley is currently on a whirlwind tour of down under in Australia, and DB Congress rep Judy and her friend Larissa were lucky enough to experience the Toowoomba and Brisbane shows on March 9 and 10, 2012.  Here's her story!

I picked up Larissa from Gold Coast airport Friday afternoon to begin our road trip to Toowoomba to see two of the best --- Lee Kernaghan & Dierks Bentley. I had received my M&G email a couple of days prior and was feeling very nervous about meeting Dierks. What a nice guy!  I was stuck for words not really sure what I said to him! SHOWTIME!  Lee was out first and was his usual best! The Empire theatre is a seated venue so there were only a few who were up dancing.  Larissa and I were on the balcony, dancing & singing.  Dierks was better than I had ever imagined!

Saturday morning we headed off to Brisbane for the next night's show at The Tivoli Theatre, which is a beautiful old theatre and STANDING! We were lucky enough to catch up with LK backstage before the show.  Dierks was there but I had had my time with him the night before. SHOWTIME! OMG! It went off, the whole place went wild--everybody was dancing, clapping, singing, girls on shoulders of guys -- it was the best crowd I have ever been in.  It was just awesome and Dierks performed brilliantly! What a guy.  He stole lots of hearts that night, especially my daughter Amy, who has only just discovered Dierks.  She can't get him of her mind, a bit like me!

I have seen many artists over the years and had always thought that nobody could match Tim McGraw live.  I was wrong! Dierks Bentley is the man, and I thank him for his wonderful music.  Please visit again!
-Judy xx

Thanks for sharing, Judy!

IF TOURING WITH DB WAS A CHOICE...

Could this be the view for one lucky fan?

Last week's DB Congress survey asked fans what they would like to win if the fan club offered. An overwhelming 83% said, "A day on tour with Dierks." Of course! That has always been MY dream! Now, if we can only get Dierks.com to have such a contest.! Uh, Morgan, ya there? Who do we have to "sell" on this idea?

I am willing to bet DBC reps would do just about anything to work for that prize! Am I right? Leave a comment and tell us what you would do in order to hang out with with Dierks for a day!

Poll Results:

What type of DB contest (if offered) would you most like to win?
*Front row DB concert tickets 2%
*Phone call from Dierks 5%
*Lunch with Dierks 10%
*Day on tour with Dierks 83%

Not a lot of tour dates left this year, but Vegas would be cool! What do you say Morgan? Vector Management? Capitol Records? Dierks? Anyone who can make this contest happen please respond!

~Ronna

DB Fan For Life

DIERKS CRANKS UP THE FUN

Alan Sculley wrote an article on The Morning Call website, but he must have written it a while back, because he still thinks Sideways is just a top five hit, and states Dierks has had 6 number one's--clearly Sideways was #7 --and I think we all know 'Close Your Eyes' will indelibly etch the eighth number one mark eventually! Here is some of the story:

For a guy who is generally seen as one big hit album away from becoming an arena-headlining country artist, Dierks Bentley didn't exactly play it safe with his recently released CD, "Feel That Fire."Yes, he did take steps to make "Feel That Fire" a bit lighter and more rocking than his previous CD, "Long Trip Alone," which was more introspective and fell well short of the sales he enjoyed with his second CD, the 2005 release "Modern Day Drifter."But Bentley also took some chances with the CD by changing up the recording process that had worked well for him in the past and challenging himself in how he went about writing songs.

Whether the new CD will put Bentley on a level with artists such as Toby Keith, Keith Urban or Brad Paisley (for whom Bentley opens at the Allentown Fair Sept. 5, along with Jimmy Wayne) remains to be seen. But "Feel That Fire" is already showing promise of being a difference-making record for Bentley.

The title song went to No. One on "Billboard" magazine's "Hot Country Singles" chart earlier this year, and the second single, "Sideways," went to the Top Five. Bentley is excited about the initial response to the new CD and about what the next single, the ballad "I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes," could do to further build momentum. That song has climbed into the Top 40 on the "Hot Country Singles" chart."

I really couldn't be more pleased with the way things have turned out with this album," Bentley says." We released the record and the first song went number one. 'Sideways' is a top five hit right now. The crowds are reacting to that. I think the third single, 'I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes,' I think it's going to be a really big song for us."

Now Bentley has taken the fun on tour. Though he spent the past two years mostly as a headliner, the Paisley tour lets him reach out to a new audience."It's a chance to get more fans," Bentley says. "We're playing to 10, 15,000 people a night and hopefully we can bring some more people over to our kind of country music. So it's a great opportunity."

Again, though, Bentley had another reason for doing the Paisley tour that had nothing to do with his career."I've always wanted to tour with Brad," he says. "I like the guy a lot. I just don't get the chance to hang out with him that much."

Of course, accepting an opening slot meant settling for a shorter show -- about 45 minutes in length. For an artist like Bentley, who has had 10 Top Five country hits (six of which went to number one), that makes creating a set list challenging.

But Bentley feels his sets, which will vary a bit over the course of the tour, get the job done."We try to pack a really loaded punch. There's not one second that's wasted in that show," he says. "Whatever we decide upon, it's locked in and it's tight and there's no extra (time). We're going from one song to the next. No one's dilly-dallying around. Let's get as many songs out there as we can. Let's organize the set list in a way that it takes people on a little bit of a ride, but it leaves them high and excited and sets them up for Brad to come out there and knock them down."

(Source: Meg)

WATCH YOUR BACK, DIERKS! BRAD'S PLANNING PRANKS!

"Although Brad Paisley happily took a break from touring to perform in front President Obama, the country singer is currently busy with his American Saturday Night Tour. In stark contrast to his tour last summer, which featured Taylor Swift and Kellie Picker as opening acts, Paisley scored Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne as openers on his current jaunt.

Said Paisley to CMT, "There's lots of testosterone on the tour, which I've found is a lot like camp. We're sneaking into Jimmy Wayne's bus at night, sticking his hand in warm water and seeing if he'll pee." Bentley hasn't been the target of a prank yet, but he'd better watch his back, as Paisley told CMT, "I've got to do something to Dierks. Here's the thing-I have people saying, 'Don't you have a life?' It's hilarious."

Read the whole story here.

TACOMA, WA STOKED FOR DIERKS

TheNewsTribune.com
Published: 02/27/09

Rising star Dierks Bentley makes a stop in Tacoma

ERNEST A. JASMIN; ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com

Brad Paisley might be the main attraction Saturday night (2-28-09) at the Tacoma Dome. But a lot of fans will be equally stoked for his opening act, hunky rising country star Dierks Bentley. The singer, best known for anthemic hits “What Was I Thinkin’” and “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” will perform cuts from his new disc “Feel That Fire” during his 45-minute opening slot. We caught up with him just to get an idea of what to expect Saturday.

Jasmin interviews Dierks about the tour highlights, video treatments, The tone of the Feel That Fire album, and special guests on the CD. "It’s got everything in the past (fans have) always dug, as far as the rowdy stuff and the sexier stuff," replied Dierks about the album. When asked about the set list, Dierks said, "It’s a fun show for us to play. There’s zero fluff. Not that there ever was, but it’s really tight."

Read the rest of the story here.

SOME REDNECKS LIKE HOCKEY

The blog "PUCK THE MEDIA" has something to say about Dierks Bentley and his inclination towards hockey. For this good ol’ country boy, it was just another opportunity to squeeze his ever-burgeoning love of hockey into a life that moves as fast-paced as any. While he may have had anything but a “typical” hockey upbringing, he’s been hooked on the game since the Predators moved in to share his hometown.
Read all about it HERE