We weren’t exactly rollin’ into Canton when the party started happenin’ last night, but IQ Beats boys Michael Berlin and Kip Beelman were instead rollin’ into Tacoma, WA to meet up with KKWF Program Director Rob Walker for some rocking good times at the Washington state stop on Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul 2007 tour.

Rob secured us two VIP passes to the invite-only pre-concert acoustic show backstage in some hidden catacomb of the Tacoma Dome. While the anticipation was building, Michael spent a little time chatting up Seattle Wolf jock Valerie Hart and surveying the scene with Rob “The Possum” Walker while Kip got snap-a-riffic with his Nikon.

On the way from IQ Beats World Headquarters in perpetually gray Seattle, Michael and Kip were tuned into the pre-show broadcast and heard an interview with Chad Warrix and David Tolliver of Tim McGraw-produced upstarts Halfway to Hazard. They were being featured as the outdoor opening act for the Soul2Soul tour… They are nice guys that have grown up together and are another brick in the foundation of Country’s Generation Next.

After the pre-show chaos of securing passes and scoring tickets, Rob and the IQ contingent headed to nearby and world-infamous McCabe’s American Music Cafe. After a repectable round of cocktails were procurred, Kip marveled at the Jack Daniels-sponsored bikini girls working the room with breasts that could have kept the Titanic from sinking. McCabe’s, the site of the KKWF pre and post-show parties, is definitely a place worth the price of admission when it comes to people watching.

After our cultural immersion at McGabe’s we headed back to the Tacoma Dome to catch Tim and Faith performing backstage to an intimate 60 person gathering. The crowd was a mix between a few industry people, military families, radio contest winners and Tim and Faith’s Club Supersoul members. They put on a short-but-sweet set that was the ultimate tease for what was to come later.

Tim and Faith, alongside members of Faith’s live band, started off with a duet that is yet to be recorded followed by some casual small talk. A number by Tim, one by Faith and one more duet peppered with a little Q&A, and Country’s most beautiful superstars were off to finish preparations for the big show. And a big show it was.

The show was nothing short of amazing on every level: stage design, light show, sound quality, musicianship and excellent performances from both Tim and Faith. The lads at IQ Beats had a great time and look forward to more good o’l Country hang sessions with Rob Walker from Seattle’s New 100.7 The Wolf.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 16th, 2007 at 12:02 pm and is filed under General, Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.