Should Concerts Be Rated?
Threesomes. Weed. Strippers. Shrooms. Porno. Hookers. And MILFs. Toby Keith left no raunchy stone unturned at his Chicago concert over the weekend. And I loved every vulgar minute of it. After all, it was my choice to go. So if that means taking some dirty jokes along with all the good country music, so be it. And, it's his show, so it's his prerogative to do it however he wants.
But I couldn't help but wonder what all the kids thought. Or worse, what the parents who'd brought their kids thought. Even when Keith brought a little girl onstage to share vocals on his hit "I Wanna Talk About Me," as she left the stage he said, "She sang her little ass off." It was just one of those shows where about every five minutes you'd be thinking "OMG. Did he just say what I think he said?"
All of that made me start to question if there should be kind of warning to keep kids and conservatives out of certain shows. Maybe even a rating. And it wouldn't be PG-13, that's for sure. I've been to comedy shows, like Rodney Carrington and Ron White, that specify they are "for mature audiences only" and should be considered PG-13 at the very least.
I probably should've known this was a show just for grownups when I was frisked at the entrance. A full-body pat down. In all my years of concert going, I've never had that happen. And when I asked why, the woman told me very matter of factly, "This is a high alcohol consumption show. We have to make sure nobody's bringing in their own alcohol." The irony, of course, is that had people consumed that much alcohol, nobody would remember Keith's remarks anyway.
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trotter says:
What were you expecting from Toby?
Marcus says:
Toby is a trashy guy, so I expect trashy comments from him.
josh says:
i think toby really does go overboard at his concerts. its not a dirty joke here and there, its f-bombs five or six times. there are children there and he needs to be aware of this. its not a rap concert toby. country music is suppose to have some class
rodney says:
this is another reason why george strait and alan jackson are two of my favorite they are the two classiest people in country music period. and esp george they have been doing it in the right way since there careers have strated. i think to that besides his music not being really good you really dont see him nominated for more awards because he is a great singer and a pretty dam good entertainer too.
Ann says:
I have been to many many Toby concerts. He uses the f-bomb usually twice, during Weed with Willie and at the end of his show. I have never been offended by Toby. Would I take my 6 year old granddaughter, no! I will tell you that Toby can be appropriate when he needs to be. I have been to 2 state fair concerts over the last 2 years and believe me I was disappointed because it was too clean. Even in Vegas last year I thought the concert was tame. You will see two different concerts from him depending on the venue. The outdoor venues are usually adult oriented and the state fairs and indoor venues are usually much more milder. Toby likes to give the crowd what they want to see and hear and feeds off the crowd. So really, if you don’t like his concerts, don’t go, if you do have a great time. I always have fun and I am looking forward to seeing him again and again.
Sonya says:
Seriously did you expect something more from him?
Jackie says:
I would love to see concerts have ratings similar to movies. If you hadn’t been to a Toby concert in a few years, you might be shocked to hear how raunchy he has gotten. Not everyone likes hearing all that stuff - especially when you are paying big bucks to be there.
David Nisbet, Scotland says:
All this talk of him swearing & stuff during concerts is giving me the fear for seeing him here in Scotland later this year!
elizabeth says:
Once again you’ve made a Toby blog go from a few positive statments to a negative.
TBONE says:
I agree with Ann. If you like his music and his personality, then you’ll love his concerts. I realize that some people who have commented on this don’t like his music or him, and thats fine. Everyone has their own opinion. But i don’t think concerts should have ratings, because toby keith fans know what toby keith concerts are like. And they are the ones who decide whether to take their children or not.
AJfanBecky says:
what a classy guy…not.
Angie says:
I attended my first Toby Keith concert this summer. I loved the concert but was a little shocked by just how vulgar he was. It was not at all what I expected. He appeared to be more than a little trashed so I assume you can probably blame it on the liquor. I also attended a Kid Rock concert and outside of the music itself it was by far a cleaner concert. I never really thought I would be able to say that.
Ann says:
David, don’t let this blog sway you. Toby is a great entertainer and you will have missed a great concert if you choose not to go.
elizabeth says:
Alison seems to do a lot of “fishing” for negative commen ts when doing a Toby blog. JMO.
MOLLY6 says:
Didn’t he name one of his albums WHITE TRASH WITH MONEY?
TBONE says:
yes he did have an album named that, it was a pretty good cd too. My whole point on this discussion is this is what makes toby keith. people have made references on here about alan jackson and george strait, and i agree that you can’t get much classier than those two. they are both known for singing simple songs that relate to the lives of us. But that whole persona doesn’t work for toby keith. you gotta let him be who he is. Yes he is raunchy and vulgar, but at least he isn’t pretending to be someone he isn’t. I think it is safe to say that most of us on here have cussed, or have made dirty jokes and what not. so i don’t have any problem with what he does. like i said earlier, if you are a toby keith fan you’ll really enjoy his concerts.
bluesky says:
Yes, I’m sure both Alan and George can cuss with the best of them… They just don’t consider it “entertainment” and neither do a lot of people
hotelmotel says:
True but then again a lot of people don’t consider what George and Alan do to be very entertaining, either.
merlefan49 says:
Perhaps this why the CMA shuns Toby. You won’t see this kind of behavior at bluegrass concerts. I’ve been to many bluegrass concerts and festivals. The use of the F word is not heard there and would not be welcomed.
TBONE says:
I think toby getting shunned has more to do with him breaking away from nashville and having his own record label. They don’t care for rebels too much. I personally think its a shame, because he is one of the best country artists.
rockerbillie says:
I agree with TBONE. The Toby concert experience is Fun and entertaining and he puts on a terrific show. Really, did people complain when Johnny Cash said a few choice words in his day? C’mon, Men are Men. Toby is mild compared to Rock shows. And he has his own style. I prefer a Kickin show, full of fun and attitude and great music over someone just standing there with a guitar and not getting involved with the audience.
TBONE says:
i couldn’t have said it any better rockerbillie. well said.
Fun Times says:
…No one can argue King George Strait is terrific, but he may choose to say his words in other ways. He is a real Cowboy afterall. Lest we forget the line he still gets asked to quote all the time from Pure Country, “Get your ass out of here, go on get your ass out of here”.
The point is, George is Great, Toby is great, Alan is great, they all have their own shows. No one should really tell them how to run their show. If Toby wants to be more of a colorful commentator, I say let him Go for it. I would imagine after artists do shows for years and years it is fun for them to change up the shows so they can have fun too.
merlefan49 says:
I must be behind the times I had no idea what
MILFs stood for till I googled it.
Fun Times says:
Well, Merlefan, you can catch up @ Urban Dictionary. LOL