"Fast As You" and set closer "Long White Cadillac" rumbled and throttled the crowd like any - dear God, are we about to say this? - Motorhead show we have seen. We saw Houston Police officers inch up closer to the revolving stage to get in between Yoakam and his adoring females. Or maybe they too just wanted to get a better look at what a 54-year-old having the time of his life looks like.

The liveliness and ease we saw from Yoakam on Friday night all bodes extremely well for his upcoming return to Warner Bros., which according to a Los Angeles Times blog, is in the works with a new-blood producer pitching in and Beck Hansen (of all people) involved. A new album is due in 2012, according to the report.

If the energy we saw and felt on Friday night is any indication of the things to come, Yoakam is about to get really fun, really weird and really in the red in the next year.

Personal Bias: The last, and only, disc that our late Grandfather Hlavaty (who will have been gone three years this month) ever burned for us with his computer was a Yoakam greatest-hits collection he made. It's cherished more than we can intimate here. The dude liked good music.

The Crowd: Like we said, loads of cougars and men there to wrangle them in from ripping their own clothes off in front of Yoakam. A small contingent of Houston rockers was also there, but overall it was just a few clicks over from being a Firehouse Saloon crowd.

Overheard In the Crowd: We lucked out twice in almost as many days, with two quiet crowds in a row. Yoakam's set was simply so loud and full of hits that he left no space for anyone to talk in their seats.

Random Notebook Dump: Damn, did we really compare the loudness of Yoakam to a Motorhead show? There is no turning back now. Is there something we have to sign somewhere? Do we need to turn in all of our Motorhead gear? We are officially going off the rails on a crazy train, and we like it.

SET LIST

Please, Please Baby Under Your Spell Again (Buck Owens) Act Naturally (Buck Owens) Streets of Bakersfield (Dwight & Buck Owens) Blame the Vain Three Good Reasons What Do You Know About Love Close Up The Honky Tonks (Buck Owens) Little Sister (Elvis) If There Was a Way Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose Things Change This Time Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash) Only Want You More Nothing's Changed Here Pocket of a Clown Honky Tonk Man A Thousand Miles From Nowhere I Sang Dixie This Drinkin' Will Kill Me It Won't Hurt It Only Hurts When I Cry Little Ways Guitars, Cadillacs Fast As You

ENCORE

The Heart That You Own Since I Started Drinkin' Again Long White Cadillac