Our Wednesday night headliner at the Appalachian Fair in Gray, Tenn., was Clint Black. I went to the show thinking – ‘this write up will be easy. It’s Clint Black! Everyone knows his music. Everyone knows he’s great. I’ll say a couple of words, and post some pictures and I’m done’. I thought wrong! There is so much to say about a Clint Black show. But, I want to start with this – “Dear Clint Black fans: If you have never seen Clint live, or if it has been a long time since you have done so – DO IT AGAIN!”
I was excited before the show started. I was more excited by the time it ended. Of course the music was great. The music was country. The music wasn’t country/rock, or country/pop, or country/rap – or whatever else they are calling it these days. The music was country. The music was Clint Black. The show ended about 12 hours ago. I’m still hyper! And, anxious to tell you what made this show so awesome.
Clint is more than a singer, songwriter, multi-talented instrumentalist. He is a true entertainer. I’ve heard a lot of artists throw in little stories between songs. A lot of them are really good at it, too. But, Clint has the skill of sharing stories and telling jokes perfected! The audience seemed to be waiting as much for the next funny story as they were for the next Clint Black hit. And, we heard many! “A Good Run of Bad Luck,” “Summer’s Comin”,” “State of Mind,” “Been There,” “When My Ship Comes In,” “Like the Rain,” “One More Payment”, and, of course “Killin’ Time”. That wasn’t all of them – but that will give you all some idea of the fantastic show we got, and the great Clint Black music we had an opportunity to hear last night.
When he introduced his band he mentioned that some of those band members had been with him for 30 years. You don’t see much of that anymore. There is not only a dedication there, but also an obvious friendship. This group of musicians was not only super talented, they all worked so well together it wasn’t easy to know which direction to look. I was glad they threw the spotlight on the fiddle player (fiddle and many other instruments), when his instrument was in a lead spot in a song. Folks really wanted to see where all this great music was coming from. He even took a little walk down our runway while he played. Those band members were Hayden Nichols, Vic Gay, Jake Willemain, Dewain Rowe and Jason Mowery.
When Clint left the stage at the end of his show, I looked at the person seated next to me and said “he’s coming back, he didn’t sing “Desperado”. I was only partly right – I was right when I said ‘he’s coming back’. He did – and of course the very loud, happy crowd was on their feet. However, he didn’t do “Desperado”, and I’ can’t help but wonder why. I know I’m not the only person who loves that song. The journalist in me came out however, and I had to mention this to someone. On my way out, I stopped and told the soundman that I was a little disappointed that he didn’t sing that one. I was simply told that ‘he hasn’t had that in his set for a while now’. Clint, would you please consider putting it back? It is just a great song.
For all the latest news about Clint, and to keep up with where he is going next, visit his website. Check out his Facebook page, too – and remember to “Like and Follow” when you are there. He has several other He has several other social media links on his website as well, so please take a look at those. And, you can follow him on Twitter @Clint_Black. By the way, fans – Clint is great with his social media! And, he even takes the time to “like” your Tweets, and respond to your Tweets! If you aren’t already following Country’s Chatter on Twitter, we’d love to have you! You will find us @countryschatter.
We are going to close this out with a few more pictures from last night’s show, along with our sincere thanks to Clint Black for coming to Gray, Tenn., to give us such a fantastic evening. We also owe a huge thank you to Beverly Campbell Hood, the world’s best concert photographer, who has been great help to Country’s Chatter by sharing her photos. All of the photos in this post were taken by Beverly and Donna Rea.
Chris Janson does not just put on a show–he throws a party!
Joe Nichols on Fox & Friends on Friday