The corporate Toby Keith, the cowboy Toby Keith, the bad boy Toby Keith - even the Key West Toby Keith - all showed up Friday night to rouse a rowdy crowd at his Big Throwdown Tour II at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The corporate Toby opened his show with a five-minute Ford truck commercial - a goofy bit involving a bulldog and space aliens that ended with Keith's video getaway truck crashing out of the screen onto the stage accompanied by explosions and fireworks.
Keith emerged unscathed, just in time to sing "Honkeytonk U," the title track from his latest CD, then rolled into "(What Happens in Mexico) Stays in Mexico," which ended with more fireworks and a rain of confetti and shiny streamers on the crowd.
Fireworks and the smell of gun-
powder seemed apropos. Keith is, after all, the country star who became an "Angry American" icon with his post 9-ll song taunting America's enemies with the promise of landing a boot where the sun don't shine. Revered in some quarters, considered revolting in others, the song pushed Keith's fame to a whole new level and cemented his bad-boy image.
The bad boy is exactly what makes Keith so delicious to super fan Laurie Delvo of Langdon, N.D., who drove 120 miles over icy roads with her friend, LeeAnn Charon, to see the concert. Both were pumped to have a good time.
"We left our husbands and kids at home and drove down here in a snowstorm to see Toby Keith," Delvo said. She loves Toby's music, she said, but she loves his rebel image, too, she said.
"Everybody likes this little bit of bad boy," Charon agreed.
That repertoire included his songs "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight," "Let's Get Drunk and Be Somebody," "Whiskey Girl" and "As Good As I Once Was," to name a few.
A relaxed and smiling Keith delivered an unexpected pleasure with a reggae version of his first No. 1 hit, "Shoulda Been A Cowboy."
"This is how we sing it at 3 a.m. in Key West when we're hammered," he said.
Keith's songwriting partner Scotty Emerick as well as Rebecca Lynn Howard and Sarah Johns, all artists from Keith's new label, Show Dog Nashville, helped open the show.
Joe Nichols, who currently has a hit with "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off," preceded Keith on stage, singing "The Impossible" and "Brokenheartsville," as well as a set that included a totally crowd-pleasing cover of the Hank Williams Jr. song, "Family Tradition."
Add to that Keith's excellent Easy Money Band, and you've got yourself a big throwdown, North Dakota style.