ROAD SHOW (Items on Blake & Miranda, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, Reba & Kelly, Keith Anderson, Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Kid Rock)

Checking in from the road with...

-Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert in Iowa: Miranda's "performance was rock solid -- her head-banging skills rival the female vixens in just about any '80s hair band video -- (but) her ability to connect with the crowd paled a bit in comparison with her easy-talking boyfriend." Blake "had the audience on their feet, singing and dancing in the aisles." All that plus a little J.Geils and Joan Jett thrown in for good measure.

-Carrie Underwood in Virginia: "There were many children in the audience, as well as many in the senior citizen category. Underwood’s appeal is wide....'American Idol’s' ultimate graduate began this year opening for folks like Keith Urban...She was good (then), but he put her in the shade...Like good wine, Carrie Underwood is improving with age. You can bet the family farm that she will be around for eons – however long that is."

-Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift in Tennessee: "Country music may not be country music anymore, but whatever it is, it still has a lot of fans."...The Flatts dudes "seem really down to earth."...and "They have music you can relate to."...As for Taylor, "despite a banjo in the band, it didn't seem like country music, but fans were happy just the same."

-Reba & Kelly in Minnesota: Reba's "a little bit country." And "Kelly's" a little bit pop, rock, country or whatever will stick against the wall, it seems."

Beer Run 1: Keith Anderson's route to stardom included stints as a baseball player, engineer, bodybuilder, singing telegram, "bad" waiter and songwriter. That lead to the Garth/George duet, "Beer Run," which changed his life, his checking account and his address.
BTW: Here's a Keith concert review sent to me recently.

Beer Run 2: Toby Keith's income is $48 million, according to Forbes, but that ain't coming from the "Beer for My Horses" soundtrack, which Reuters sez has sold only 16,000 copies since its August bow.

Pour We: Ricky Skaggs will perform on The Second Cup Cafe segment of CBS' "Saturday Early Show" today.

Smells Like Keen Spirit: Kid Rock is partnering with Wayne State University in his stomping grounds of Michigan to sell a limited-edition t-shirt to help fund the music scholarship Kid founded at the school. Get 'em here and here.