FLORENCE — Country star Neal McCoy has a reputation at Country Thunder: Pity the act that follows him.
But on Friday night, comedian Larry the Cable Guy could rest assured. There was no pressure for him to get the more than 30,000 fans on their feet and keep them there. No pressure to get them to participate, dance, hoot, holler or cause a ruckus.
All Larry, aka Dan Whitney, had to do was get the crowd laughing.
Out he strolled on stage in his trademark baggy jeans and plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off and spouted his slogans — "Git-r-done" and "Bam, no sweat."
If he sang, Larry would've had a tough time matching McCoy's energy and the way he got those fans out of their seats and kept them standing. Hundreds of them crushed against the east stage runway as McCoy sprinted the length singing the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." and "In the Navy." He boogied to his hits "Wink" and "The Shake" and roused the crowd when he introduced hometown boy Vince Moreno, his keyboard player for the past year who hails from Tucson's Maverick King of Clubs.
If Larry had to sing, he would never have been able to match McCoy's charisma that makes watching him the highlight of any multiday country music festival.
But Larry was there to make the crowd laugh, and he succeeded from the moment he walked on stage and let loose with that first "Git-r-done."
Larry's rants started with his laments over gaining 25 pounds over the holidays — "Is that a lot for Arbor Day?" — to his observation that "When I see a pretty girl with a fat guy, I just assume she's being held hostage."
He loves Wal-Mart because it's "filled with ugly people.
"I go into Wal-Mart so I can feel good," he explained. "I go in ugly and fat and come out Brad Pitt."
And all those folks whining over the company's reputation for paying low wages "don't have to work at Wal-Mart," which drew one of many laughs that caused mouths to freeze up with the pain of laughing so much.
Larry and his new wife are expecting their first child this summer. He said they were ordering it from China.
He then cracked a joke about adopting a child from China that made the crowd let out a collective moan.
But the discomfort of the moment lasted about as long as it took Larry to defuse it with this disclaimer: "That's funny, I don't care who you are."
"No it ain't right. Is it funny? Yeah, it kinda is," he said, and from the laughter it's safe to say the audience agreed.
● The music continues today, beginning at 1 p.m., at Canyon Moon Ranch, 20585 E. Price Road, off Arizona 79, Florence. Headliners include Carrie Underwood and Brooks & Dunn. 1-520-868-9711.
