Guns and Tacos

Ted Nugent, Pasadena and Machine Guns

July 13th, 2010 in Guns! by Jay | 3 responses

Check out the M2 .50 BMG next to the skull. YEAH!

Ted Nugent, also known as “The Nuge”, “Motor City Madman”, and “Terrible Ted”, visited Pasadena, TX yesterday to raise money for the Bay Area Builders Association, a charity that provides housing for the families of injured or fallen military members.

He is widely known for his guitar skills, his passionate and well-versed political commentary, and his love for bow hunting and wildlife preservation. The hipster staff at 29-95 asked me to check it out, probably because they were doing other things on a Sunday night like roller skating at American Apparel while shopping for a unitard. “Stranglehold” is a guitar masterpiece, and I’ve always wanted to hear it performed live, even if it was in Pasadena.

The venue was the Pasadena Convention Center Fairgrounds, an area I am all too familiar with. Nearby LaPorte is my hometown, so I spent a good bit of my childhood here learning to show animals at the Pasadena Rodeo and dip Skoal. The annual Strawberry Festival is here, an event that I’ve managed to avoid my entire life. You can also find a gun show at the convention center about once a month.

There was free parking in a field north of the fairgrounds. The entrance to the event was marked with two Pasadena fire trucks with their cranes fully extended, holding a massive US flag. Kids were taking rides in olive drab military cargo vehicles. The website said they would have helicopter rides available, but I didn’t see any choppers around. Since this was an all-day affair, I guess I missed out by showing up at six.

The crowd was a lot of fun to watch. A lot of families were there, many wearing camouflage and military garb. There were a great many Willie Nelson-style ponytails, political tees, and some that chose to brave the heat in leather Banditos jackets. Most folks were toting mini US flags in their hair, sunglasses and back pockets. I changed into a wifebeater, and a random drunk guy gave me a fist bump for no reason.

My older brother, an avid bowhunter and fisherman, was in attendance so I joined him in the bleachers. A young boy in a raccoon skin cap held a single yellow balloon which bounced off of my face repeatedly as I sneered at him.

Texas rock group The Charlie Lucas Band opened on the main stage, asking the crowd to take “a holler and a swaller” to each branch of the military, war veterans, and the event sponsors, Silver Eagle Distributors. Aside from several originals, they covered Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road”.

Ted Nugent was introduced by a group of Marines in full regalia, standing at attention with flags held upright. He ripped into a guitar rendition of The Star Spangled Banner as he spoke to the crowd about military veterans and their contributions and sacrifice. He acknowledged several veterans on the stage, and at one point he adorned a veteran with his own version of a war medal. This theme continued through the evening as he burned through the setlist.

The people of Pasadena were of great interest to The Nuge. He acknowledged that he was not originally from Texas, but now he considers it to be his home state (Ted Nugent resides in Crawford, TX), referring to Texans and Pasadena folks as “warriors”. He supplemented this by covering Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” (which could easily be misconstrued as an instrumental version of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood”),  diving into a solo with a scream.

“You can’t do this in France, baby!”

As the sky darkened, he stepped up the political commentary a bit- the sweeping generalities became more pointed and specific. As not to dwell on one subject and possibly bore the audience, between each song, he rotated the subjects of veterans, wildlife preservation and hunting as well as the 2nd Amendment.

“Kill it and grill it, baby!”

At one point, he brought a semiautomatic rifle on stage with a high capacity magazine, expressing his disdain for Boston and especially New Jersey, which he considers a “suburb of Canada”. Although he has a Class 3 firearms license to own automatic rifles, he had some trouble bringing them to these cities due to local laws. Ted gave the cameras/JumboTrons the double middle finger salute as the crowd erupted.

“I’ve got your fucking permit right here!”

The rant continued, and the fueled crowd roared to the point where I couldn’t hear him anymore.

Ted softened up a bit,  playing an anthem titled “Never Stop Dreaming”.  The twin JumboTrons displayed images of bow hunting kill shots, assistance with military veterans in hospitals, wildlife conservation, and Martin Luther King, as well as showcasing his efforts to help out terminally ill children at his SpiritWild exotic game ranch in Waco. As a much-needed anthem hangover remedy, Ted and the band then covered Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man”

As the crowd cheered and chanted along with the masterfully skilled guitar wizard, he continued to play songs that were not Stranglehold.

In 2000, Ted Nugent played at Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and was permanently banned from the venue for remarks that were perceived as anti-Latino. In the past, he has been very outspoken about US immigration policy, and though the controversy may have galvanized his Tea Party/Minutemen fans, it has hurt his public image as a whole. It appears that Ted has now changed his strategy a bit, and is now focusing on US Troops, veterans and their sacrifices- something everyone agrees with.

As a fellow outdoorsman, bow hunter, and fisherman, I agree with Ted Nugent on several points. The Second Amendment needs a voice of reason, and sometimes the anti-gun pundits on political TV shows need someone to hand their ass to them. Nugent’s command of the subject matter is legendary, and his verbal jousting can disassemble anyone who challenges him in a 2nd amendment or anti-hunter debate. It’s impossible to question his sincerity on these subjects, since he is so reverent about them that he’s developed a bit of the crazy eye.

As to Nugent’s advocacy of US soldiers and veterans, some of it can seem a bit contrived, kind of like watching a Toby Keith video. But the results are real. Thousands of people paid $25 bucks to get into this event, and though I don’t know what percentage is going to BABA, Ted Nugent’s decision to play his music at the Pasadena Fairgrounds will provide housing funds for the families of wounded soldiers.

Ted Nugent uses his status as a prominent musician to be the benefactor for several good causes, and it’s impossible to disagree with this unless you are an herbivore that hates US soldiers and terminally ill children.  The grandstanding and name calling is annoying, and I think he has a better chance of expanding his audience without it.  But what happens when musicians stop pouring their beliefs into their music? The Black Eyed Peas happen.

He finally played Stranglehold, and I listened intently while making my way out of the stadium.  Many people have strong opinions about the guy, but if you can step back and see him as a guitar player instead of a pundit, you won’t have a choice but to get down. Watch this Bandito get down to Stranglehold.