I Survived Bullnanza!!

I know what you are thinking right, Bullnanza??? I am a city girl; I really have no knowledge of bull riding or even cows for that matter. But, for the past few weeks a friend at work has been hyping up bullnanza to me. She kind of explained the whole thing to me since I was unsure as to what to expect. She showed me some video of bull riding and told me I would be throughly disappointed if I missed this year’s event. So I told her, sure why not, I hadn’t been to anything like that before.

Let me explain what bullriding is for those who dont know. The object is for the bull rider to stay on the bull for 8 seconds once he is let out of the pin. If the rider falls off before 8 seconds, they are awarded no points. If they stay on 8 seconds or longer, the judges judge their ride based on their technique and a few other things.

I think the most exciting part of bull riding is when they are let out of their holding pen to start their run. The bull comes out of there kicking and bucking with its fullest power and the rider is holding on to just a braided rope. Frankly, I am not sure how they can even hold on to that thing and it just not slip right through his hands. The bulls range from just normal size bulls to some of the largest bulls I have ever seen in my life! It’s hard to describe actually watching this event, so I shot some video for you:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_yENDqYiOg]

One of things I expected was for this to be really country, which it’s definitely not. Ya, there are some cowboys there, but nothing over the top. I think why this event appeals to so many people is because they try to make sure that there is something for everyone. They played everything from rock music, to popular hits that everyone knows, to country and even some rap! I think having the broad spectrum of genres there helps it appeal to everyone’s taste.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gUH18r44CY]

One of the (i don’t want to use scarriest, but it really is) scarriest parts of the whole thing is when the rider falls of the bull. You can hear the crowd as a whole say things like, “watch out” or “oooooh”. A lot of times I guess the bull is trained to go back into the holding pen where they come from. But also a lot of the time, that is not the case. It almost looks like the bull wants a little revenge and he abruptly turns around and starts heading for the rider or the “clown”. I promise you you will not be able to take your eyes off of it when it happens. Most of the time the rider can get right up and runs to the side, but sometimes the bull is just too quick and that’s when the “clown” comes in. He tries to distract the bull and even sometimes pull him away from the rider on the ground. And even sometimes, which is funny, the bull tries to attack the “clown” and starts running after him. I am not really sure what the “clowns” are called now, but they have their faces painted and wear brightly colored clothing, but not like a traditional clown, to try to get the bull to notice them, so that is what I call them. And then sometimes, the bulls aren’t even distracted by the clowns and the guy and his horse have to come lasso the bull and pull him back into the pin.

One of the promotions they had was an audience member got to come out onto the floor and get down on all fours, and being blindfolded look for a $100 bill that was placed in dirt somewhere. I don’t know about you, but $100 isn’t worth it for me to get down in my good clothes and rummage around in the nasty dirt. (Also, notice the clown i was talking about before; he is the guy with the cowboy hat on.)

This bull riding competition was part of the PBR group and they evidentally tour nationally. So the cool thing is that they have the opportunity to come back to Lexington for their next competition. I would say this is just something that you have to see in person. Watching the video is nothing like being there and watching these riders try to hang on to these bulls for dear life. You have to just be there to experience the excitement! I know i will definitely go again next time they come around!

Keith & Carrie Concert Recap

“What the Hell are They Drinking in Hazard?” as Said by Keith Urban, of Course.

So I have to admit, I am not really a country music fan. But after watching the Carrie Underwood/Keith Urban show tonight, I can no longer say that. I liked both acts so much that I will be buying their CDs.

The night started out with Carrie Underwood. The fans were screaming so incredibly loud as she made her way up through the floor, even if I tried to speak, I wouldn’t be able to hear myself. She was dressed in all black except for the coolest looking belt that was made of some kind of rhinestones. The way they had the stage positioned allowed her to kind of “walk through” the crowd and let everyone see her up close. I had attended a 3 Doors Down concert a couple years back and they just had the one stage up front. So there would be no way, unless you had one of the first rows that you would actually get to see what the band looked like. That’s why at tonight’s show, almost everyone on the floor and all around the bottom of the arena gave you an up close and personal view. Not only did they have the cool stage, but they had two big hanging projection screens. So if you were unable to see Carrie as she moved around, you could always watch her on the bigger-than-life screens.

Carrie’s song set included most of her hits songs from her two CDs. I think the song that I like most from her was “I Ain’t In Checotah Anymore.” She told the audience that on the big screen behind her were pictures she took herself in her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma. It’s so easy to forget that she actually is a real person, who has a life outside of performing. I really enjoyed seeing pictures of where she was from and knowing that she took them herself. Her set tonight was really amazing; there is definitely a reason she won season four of American Idol!

I do have to say though, my main motive for wanting to come to this concert tonight was to just see Carrie Underwood. I knew who Keith Urban was, and had heard of a few of his songs here and there, but never have been a real big fan. All I can say after watching him perform live tonight is, WOW! He is an awesome performer, and not to mention one of the best guitarists I have heard. I could have just sit there and listen to him play guitar all night. He wasn’t all that bad to look at either…

Right up front, Keith let everyone know that they were filming tonight’s show for an upcoming DVD. Therefore, the show was going to be extra long and that we are all to be on our “worst behavior.” And trust me, some of the people in the crowd definitely were. There was one girl behind us that was just dying to get backstage and was doing everything in her willpower to do just that, if you know what I mean. How cool is it that they picked Lexington to be the place to film their DVD?? The crew had all of these handheld cameras in the crowd taping everyone. I am sure there will be a lot of people who watch the DVD that will recognize at least one person.

One of the coolest things that happened during the show though was someone from the crowd got to come up and play guitar with Keith as he sang! Evidentially a few people in the crowd all had the same sign. “Let her play your guitar” and were all pointing to this teenage girl. After Keith was done playing one of his songs, he said okay, if you want to play my guitar, then come up here. So this young girl comes up on stage and says her name was Leslie from Hazard. Keith asked her what she wanted to play and she said she knew the solo of one of his songs. So she played the lead guitar and he played backup guitar and sang. How cool is that???? I was amazed that he asked her to come up on stage and even more amazed that she was so freaking good! As she was walking off stage, Keith asked the crowd, “What the hell are they drinking in Hazard?” He was really amazed that she was so good; I am sure like the rest of us were too! All I can say is that I am glad I stayed to listen to Keith Urban; otherwise I definitely would have missed out. I can guarantee that even non-country fans would have liked tonight’s show!

Editor’s Note: The above recap was written by Julie Johnson for use on the Rupp Arena Blog. All photos shown were taken by house photographer Michael Wright. More photos will be posted up here in the next week.