It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nearly six years since last I saw Aaron Lewis at the Uptown Theatre in Napa. I promise I’ll never say this again, but I’m shocked to look back and realize that I can say yes, in fact, it’s been awhile. What never occurred to me, however, was how those several years could make such a difference. Last time, Lewis toured with his first full-length country album, The Road. This time, he’s back with Sinner, and he’s fully embraced his country side with no apologies. The evolution of Lewis’ music from rock-tinged to full-blown country is not the only important shift, however – last time I saw him, the world was a different place. When I turned up with a girlfriend to see him earlier this month (December 8, to be exact), I would soon discover that some things were very, very different…
We got inside, grabbed a drink, and found an usher, but by the time we got situated, opener Kyle Phelan had been singing for at least a song or two. We sat down and promptly realized how fantastic the guy was: I told my friend that if Lewis was as good as Phelan, we were in for a great night. He has a pretty, sort of smoky tone, and he was handsome and endearing to boot. He made mention of playing such a show to be a “hell of a rush,” adding that he doesn’t “always get to play in places like this – it’s fun.” He followed the comment up with a phenomenal cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” and I began to realize that he may be setting the bar quite high for Lewis. I say this because Phelan’s rock-tinged singer-songwriter vibe is precisely my jam, while country music is not so much. Phelan invited the crowd to sing along with him, saying, “you know it – come on, sing with me!” Other highlights of his set included “Ole’ Fashion Breakup,” the title track to his most recent record (2016’s Family), and a cover song called “The Fighter” (I think it’s a Keith Urban song, but couldn’t say for sure that that’s the right one). Unfortunately he was done all too soon, and then there was nothing left to do but wait for Lewis.
With more than enough time for a quick dash to the restroom and braving the cocktail line, we made it back to our seats again with plenty of time to spare before Lewis appeared. He began by asking the gentlemen in the venue to remove their hats, as he did the same, leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. After the title track from the aforementioned Sinner, Lewis announced that the next song was “about a gun” (“Grandaddy’s Gun”). After that was “The Party’s Over,” from his forthcoming album, which he reported to be slated for next April. “Mama” came next, with the perfect lyrics “you’re right, I’ll probably go to hell… but goddamn, all the stories I can tell.” Wouldn’t it be fun to hear a few of those?
At this point, my evening hit a bit of a snag: Lewis decided to get political. In a room full of country-lovin’ folk, that might not be a gamble. But this is Napa Valley: a fairly blue town in a state that’s pretty blue… Up to this point, nothing he’d said or done had bothered me in the slightest. But when he set up the next song (another new one) but saying he’d written it “for us,” and “not for Nancy Pelosi,” adding that he “hopes to fuck” she hears it. There are “a couple of things in my world that are not up for discussion,” Lewis explained. Specifically, the two most important are God and guns. The song, “God and guns,” garnered big applause from the out-of-town crowd, but my friend and I scratched our heads a bit. We googled for more information on Pelosi’s stance on guns, trying to figure out why he had singled out her out as the object of his frustration. I found enough evidence to understand why he probably doesn’t like her, but it wasn’t convincing enough to make me agree.
Let me say here that I’m a native of Northern California, and pretty liberal. Now that that’s out of the way, let me also say that while I’m not remotely religious myself, and few things matter to me as much as the separation of church and state, I’m far more of a live-and-let-live kind of person on this matter, and would go to some pretty great lengths to defend a person’s right to practice any religion in which s/he believes. And maybe this is even more controversial, but I also feel quite strongly about the Second Amendment. Unlike many other liberals, I’m not anti-gun; I believe firmly in a person’s right to bear arms. Having said that, I’m also a mental health professional, and agree with many who are working toward saner gun laws that protect us all from the insanity of today’s all too common mass shootings. Basically, I don’t think that people should be able to own just any gun simply because they want to, and unfortunately, I don’t think that the right to bear arms can safely apply to every single American. Other than that, I’m more than okay with a person’s Second Amendment right. Thankfully, I find the First Amendment just as important as the Second, so it’s okay with me that we don’t need to agree on everything.
The crowd was treated to another new song, “Keeps on Working,” which Lewis said was “gonna make me a lot of friends in Nashville, but I don’t give two fucks,” and that seemed to be his attitude in general. He’s unapologetically who he is, and he doesn’t care whether anyone loves or hates him. I believe he’s earned his stripes enough to warrant that attitude, as there are clearly plenty of people who adore everything he says and does. I was happy that he still plays “It’s Been Awhile,” which was the absolute highlight for my rock-loving soul. I was also disappointed that he never plays “Outside,” but I’d been prepared for that to be likely since I’ve never seen him sing it live. All in all, it was a good show. Do I dislike Lewis because it’s now come to my attention that we disagree on some things politically? Nope. But would I go see him again? Probably not, because he’s gone pretty much all the way country, and while he’s a great artist, it’s just not my cup of tea. I’ll leave it to his fellow red-blooded country music lovers, and fire up an old Staind CD if I need to spend a little time reliving all that his voice evokes.
