'Ezra-Lites' Show Up Strong in Suwanee

There were references to beer, the "redneck riviera" and Southeastern Conference football. Just another Saturday night in Suwanee, Ga., right?

Not exactly. Most of the references above came from Better Than Ezra, the popular rock band that put on an energetic show for thousands of fans -- dubbed "Ezra-lites" -- at the Rock & Jock Festival at Town Center Park.

BTE's two-hour show ended about 10 p.m. and capped four hours of rock music from the amphitheater stage. Gasoline Brothers of Atlanta and Ingram Hill of Memphis, Tenn., preceded BTE on the stage.

It was high-energy rock all the way, and there were plenty of toddlers and pre-schoolers in the crowd with their parents.

BTE, with roots in LSU's home of Baton Rouge, La., proudly showed its colors. Its bass guitars were imprinted with a fleur de lis similar to the New Orleans Saints' logo. "Football season hasn't started," lead singer Kevin Griffin told the crowd early on, "right now we're all one happy SEC family."

But it was about music, and BTE delivered its top hits, such as "Good," "Juicy" and "Rosalita." It also kept the AARP members happy with short covers of The Band's "The Weight" and "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones.

The band is on a tour that will eventually take it back nearer its Louisiana roots in time for the SEC opener, but Griffin spoke enthusiastically of a return to Suwanee. "When we play here next year, you've got to learn the harmony (to "The Weight").

As for the "Jock" part of the event, representatives from the Georgia Force and the Gwinnett Gladiators were there, and local high school athletes also set up booths.