<h3>In Case Anyone Wanted To Know How The VERY FIRST Show Of The Blood, Sweat &#038; Beers Tour Went&#8230;</h3>
<p>I was very fortunate to attend the first show of <strong><a title="Eric Church" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/eric-church-tour-dates/">Eric Church</a>&#8217;</strong>s <strong>Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour</strong>. It took place in Fort Smith, Arkansas at the Fort Smith Convention Center. I (again so very grateful) had <strong>VIP</strong> tickets which included lots of goodies! There was a dinner before (with great food), a bag full of merchandise (including a very classy set of shot glasses), an acoustic set and great seats!</p>
<p>The acoustic set consisted of two songs between dinner and the actual show. He sang &#8220;<em>Like Jesus Does</em>,&#8221; a track from <strong>Chief</strong> and &#8220;<em>Before She Does</em>,&#8221; a track from his first album <strong>Sinners Like Me</strong>. After those there was time for some questions from the fans.</p>
<p>I managed to get some talk time, where I first told him it was my birthday and then asked where he got the idea to write &#8220;<em>Lightning</em>.&#8221; He replied with a VERY &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; and said it came to him one day after watching the<em> Green Mile</em>. For those of you who haven&#8217;t heard it, go listen now! It will definitely tug at your heartstrings! After questions (and one more drink) me and my friends headed to the main building!</p>
<p><strong><a title="Brantley Gilbert" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/brantley-gilbert-concert-tour-tickets/">Brantley Gilbert</a> </strong>was the opening act, but I only caught the first and last songs of his set&#8230;that&#8217;s because I was waiting in line for a cold beverage for, no joke, at least 30 minutes. This was one thing, that I feel, wasn&#8217;t thought out very carefully.</p>
<p>Once Church hit the stage all complaints or worries were out the door!!!! He <strong>ROCKED</strong> that stage, and when I say this I mean it 100 percent! I have seen him perform on several occasions (over 10) and I&#8217;m never disappointed, but last Thursday I was attacked with the amount of energy coming off of the stage and exuding in the audience. He packed the place, it was mentioned several times that this was a record breaking amount of people in the building! That&#8217;s with it being a Thursday night and previous artists such as <strong><a title="Willie Nelson" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSWNelson/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fwillie-nelson-tickets%2F">Willie Nelson</a></strong> and <strong><a title="Miranda Lambert" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSMLambert/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fmiranda-lambert-tickets%2F">Miranda Lambert</a></strong> playing the venue!</p>
<p>He played his classics &#8220;<em>Two Pink Lines</em>,&#8221; <em>&#8220;Sinners Like Me,</em>&#8221; &#8220;<em>Guys Like Me</em>,&#8221; &#8220;<em>Pledge Allegiance to the Hag</em>,&#8221; &#8220;<em>Smoke A Little Smoke</em>,&#8221; &#8220;<em>Carolina</em>,&#8221; &#8220;<em>Hell On the Heart</em>&#8221; and many others. Like clock-work, as soon as he started to sing &#8220;<em><strong>These Boots</strong></em>,&#8221; the majority of the crowd shucked their kickers and raised them high in the air! Church also played songs from his most recent album, Chief! Of course he sang &#8220;<strong><em>Drink In My Hand</em></strong>,&#8221; but what has become one of my all-time favorite songs, &#8220;<em><strong>Springsteen</strong></em>,&#8221; stole the show! He played the piano during the memory-lane, reminiscing tune, this is after learning the 88 keyed instrument days prior!</p>
<p>Basically it was one of the best shows I have seen in a LONG time! Most definitely the best show I&#8217;ve seen in 2012! ;)</p>
<p><strong>I strongly encourage you to catch a show if there is one near you, but hurry because tickets are selling out QUICK!</strong></p>