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Photo by George Lauby
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Photo by George Lauby
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Photo by George Lauby
Gilbert Brantley
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Photo by George Lauby
Cheryl Murphy, Donna Lewis and Terra Vejraska enjoy the show down front.
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Photo by George Lauby
Jasi Quick of North Platte celebrates the end of the rain
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Photo by George Lauby
From left, Michael Hoffmann, Alex Frey, Eric Deildeer, Justa O'Neal and Jared Simpson of Mullen keep their spirits up while the rain falls.
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Central Nebraska got two things it needed Friday -- a decent rain and the immensely entertaining Toby Keith. Keith was an hour and a half late taking the stage at the Wild West Arena in North Platte, as he and a nearly sold-old crowd waited for a severe thunderstorm to pass. But when the worst of the storm was over, Keith performed a full show despite another shower in the middle of it. Keith’s first song was "American Ride" – his 16th career #1 single since 2000, the most among all artists in the 21st century. Then Keith followed with "Made in America." Having no trouble playing hits, he proceeded to party with “Let’s get Drunk and Be Somebody,” “God Love Her" and "I Wanna Talk About Me." "Let's see, the last time I was in North Platte was about 1452 Beers Ago," he said as he launched into that song, and then came the party favorite -- Red Solo Cup. As Keith was in the midst of what he introduced as Redneck songs, more rain came beating down. He finished "Good As I Once Was" as the rain started, but he went right on to "I Love This Bar." His 90-minute show never stopped and included the humorous "Never Smoke Weed With Willy Again," and "Getta Outta My Car" and concluding with the rousing patriot songs, "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" and "American Soldier."
Gilbert Brantley Gilbert opened the show with blends of country and rock, featuring power chords and thumping bass. Gilbert, a prolific songwriter, was dressed in a black tee shirt, black cap and dark blue jeans. He played a black guitar. "To hell with the rain," he said. "I say we keep partying." Gilbert's "Dirt Road Anthem" (co-written and originally recorded by Colt Ford) and "My Kinda Party" were both released as major hits for Jason Aldean and recorded by Gilbert on his first album "Modern Day Prodigal Son." Gilbert said he got into a lot of trouble when he was a kid, including being locked up a few times. "I've made mistakes and I'm proud of it, because you learn from mistakes," he said. Then he sang "Modern Day Prodigal Son," a song that he said "actually means more to me than any song in my career." Before Keith could take the stage, Nebraskaland Days organizers moved the crowd away from the stage, because 45 mile-an-hour winds and hard driving rain were on the way. Fans huddled in whatever shelter they could find for nearly an hour and a half, and cheered wildly at the sight of the first movement on the stage. The floor of the arena and the stands filled up again. More than a half inch of rain fell -- 0.66 inch -- at the North Platte Regional Airport.
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