U - Unreal

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Unreal. That's the only way I can describe seeing Home Free in concert. I've talked about them before, but please indulge me for a moment. Last night, my wife and I, our four kids, my nephew, and a good friend all went to see them live in Tulsa. This is the second time we've seen them in concert in twelve months. When we saw them last year, we were all floored. BEST CONCERT EVER! Then we saw them last night. They've gotten better. A LOT better!

Having seen them before and following them closely on social media, I already knew much of what they would do in the show. I've felt Tim's bassquake vibrate the whole building. I've seen Adam perform a beatboxing routine that defies belief. I've seen the group mesmerize an audience with their harmony and true camaraderie. They are best friends and family and it shows.

I was shocked by what I witnessed last night. Tim's bass has gotten even stronger. The harmonies are spot on. They have the audience dancing in their seats one minute, crying the next. And laughing and smiling the whole way. But two things stood out last night that cranked it up to 11.

The first was Adam Rupp's beatboxing solo. I think he's been practicing. For ten minutes, he proved why Austin Brown introduces him each night as "a freak of nature." He makes sounds the human body was never designed to make. His drum solo sounds like a full drum kit played by a professional. Then he goes into his DJ Blank Stare routine. All culminating with the finale, introduced by his simple statement, "Drop the beat." I can't begin to describe it. You must witness it. Click on Adam's picture below to see his solo. You'll need good speakers to get the full effect, but it still can't capture the experience of the live show.

The second thing was, in my opinion, the greatest performance I have ever seen by Home Free. They did a cover of "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. On their album, Country Evolution, the song is very cool. In concert, they went insane. They added a shorter Adam Rupp drum solo. Then Austin Brown joined in with a beatbox solo. Then Chris Rupp. And Rob Lundquist. And Tim Foust. Then they had a beatbox battle with Austin and Chris on one side and Rob and Tim on the other. Adam joined both sides and kept things under out of control. I may have swallowed a bug or two during that performance. My mouth was hanging open long enough. I won't even bother posting a video of that one. You can look it up on Youtube, but it doesn't do it justice.

If you get a chance, see them live. You're welcome.

T - Dwarf King

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Tim Foust is the bass singer for Home Free. I believe I've mentioned them before. I have to mention them today because we are going to see them in concert tomorrow night. That is both a good and a bad thing. You see, my wife and my older daughter both have a huge crush on Tim. I'm not too concerned about my wife. I also sing bass and am at least as cool as Tim, if not more... Forget it. I can't type that with a straight face. The dude oozes cool. If I were prone to man-crushes, he'd definitely be one. I will admit, I love listening to him sing. He's got an unreal 5 1/2 octave range. (For comparison, Freddy Mercury of Queen had a 4 octave range.) He's a freak of nature. I, on the other hand, have about a 1 1/2 octave range on a good day. And it's all in the lower register. I can drop low enough to hit most of Tim's low notes, but then he keeps dropping into the basement and digging halfway to China. One of these days, he's going to break a seismograph or two. Australian scientists will be trying to figure out why they're getting warnings of an earthquake coming through the core of the planet. Seriously, dude shakes the place.

Click the picture below (really, look at the dude. Cool!) to hear his rendition of Misty Mountains with Peter Hollens. Low? Check! Awesome? Check! Dressed like a freakin' dwarf king ready to beat you senseless with his stare? Check and double check!

Pretty sure no one's gonna notice if I'm at the concert tomorrow night or not.