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Music

Country charm

By SEAN DALY
Published August 31, 2006

So there I was, second-row center at last year's Toby Keith gig at Ford Amphitheatre, stuck next to a burly drunk dude intent on picking a fight with Hulk Hogan. That's right: When he wasn't elbow-shivving me every time the Oklahoma country star cranked out another hit, my inebriated neighbor was threatening the beloved pro wrestler, who was there with his family: "Whoo! Yeah! How do you like me now, Hulkster? Huh? How do you like these pythons? Come on!"

Hogan just waved at the yahoo, gave him a patented thumbs-up and kept enjoying the show. Unfortunately, I couldn't shake Capt. Budweiser so easily. When he saw me scribbling in my notebook, he grunted, "Now what in the hell are you writing?!"

I guess that's all part of the fun of a Toby Keith show. It's rowdy, reliably tipsy and, in the end, relatively harmless. Plus whether you agree with Keith's politics or not, you have to admit the guy has a keen ear for catchy hits, including I Love This Bar, Beer for My Horses and, of course, How Do You Like Me Now?

Just make sure to steer clear of Capt. Budweiser. The dude has seriously sharp elbows.

Toby Keith performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ford Amphitheatre, Interstate 4 at U.S. 301 N, Tampa. $28.75-$62.75. (813) 740-2446.

- SEAN DALY, Times pop music critic

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 08:14:14]