The Roadhouse Review Mar 19th, 20th, and 21st
Thursday Mar 19, 2015:
The country train rolled out a little early this past weekend at Skooters Roadhouse with country headliner Chris Cagle playing Thursday night.
Opening for Cagle was country rocker Nick Lynch.
Lynch was on American Idol in 2008, and even played for New Year’s Eve on ABC in 2013.
Lynch was a force to be reckoned with, he was pumped up, fired up, geared up, and by the time he hit that stage it was like a rocket ready for takeoff.
Lynch played country, he played classic rock, and he played his new original track “Lucky Break”. Lynch could play it all and got the crowd going.
Lynch had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands playing classic country songs by artists including Brantley Gilbert, Blake Shelton, and Eric Church then without missing a step played classic rock by ZZ Top, Journey, and Tom Petty.
I could have listened to him for the entire night to be perfectly honest, Lynch was full of energy and made me want to hear more.
Lynch has a voice that is a true blend of rock and country and when he hits his sweet spot it makes you want to throw your hands in the air all night long.
If you haven’t seen this up and comer yet don’t miss out on the chance to see him, his show will be one that you will not forget.
Lynch will be back at Skooters on Apr 10 but stays around the Chicago area.
To learn more about Nick Lynch, get concert dates, or find him on social media visit his band page at: http://nicklynchmusic.com/
The night wasn’t over yet unfortunately there was still another artist set to perform Thursday night.
I have been a huge Chris Cagle fan since he first come onto the country scene in 2000 and have been chomping at the bit to finally see him live somewhere.
After releasing his last album in 2008 Cagle came back in 2012 with his “Back in the Saddle” album. Since then Cagle has been on a three year hiatus.
His last single was released in 2012 “Let there be Cowgirls”.
Don’t let my cynical approach fool you I still will forever love his music like “Chicks Dig it” and “What a Beautiful Day” but I really feel like Cagle just mailed in his performance.
Cagle’s entire set list was one printed page with big bold font and went off on a lot of tangents during his show taking away from his actual music and after seeing how he treats his fans I just left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Cagle didn’t sound bad but he did sound just like his CD’s and that was also a small disappointment.
Cagle never played his newest song “Dance Baby Dance” and even had to have his band members tell him that he was out of key.
I don’t want to deter you from getting out there and catching one of Cagle’s shows but if you do be prepared to stand outside in the freezing cold while it is drizzling after paying $20 just to meet him, unless its summer than I assume it will just be scorching hot.
Overall I was rather disappointed with his performance and not quite sure whether he is genuine in his love for his fans or if his actions spoke louder than words.
To learn more about him visit his band page at: http://www.chriscagle.com/
Friday Mar 20, 2015:
After a disappointing show on Thursday I was hoping that Mitch Gordon and the unleaded band would not disappoint and they certainly did not!
Members include Mitch Gordon Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar, Neal Elder Lead Guitar/Vocals, Michael Paul Bass/Vocals, Jeremy Schreifels Drums, and finally the beautiful Jaymi Struthers on Keys/Vocals.
Gordon founded the unleaded band at the age of 16 finding it difficult but not impossible to book venues that were 21 and over.
Gordon is a country music fan’s dream, a cross between George Strait classic country and Justin Moore modern music he is sure to appeal to both hard core classic fans and the modern generation country music lovers.
Gordon played music from “The Ride” by David Allen Coe, which I have never heard covered before, to songs of modern day music like “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker.
Going to watch this band play is like traveling in a time machine through the great genera of country music; how it started, what got us here, and of course the modern country you hear on the radio today.
Gordon and the unleaded band don’t let you miss out on a single great song in country music history.
It was an absolutely refreshing change of pace to hear songs by Alan Jackson, David Allan Coe, John Michael Montgomery and many more classic artists most band neglect to cover nowadays.
Gordon even has his own original album out called “Top Shelf” and you can hear his classic country influences and amazing song writing ability in his original songs.
One he performed for Skooters Friday night was entitled “Small Town” and went a little something like this:
This is the type of country music I as a fan want to promote and want to get the word out about because there can be modern country music without losing that classic country music feel.
So much of the modern country is fusing with pop and rap and completely forgetting about the sound they started with or the sound they grew up listening to and it’s a shame, but with Gordon and his band I take comfort in knowing at least some people out there are still keeping their roots in mind.
Seeing these guys play is a must to find out tour dates or more information on Mitch Gordon and the unleaded band check out their band page at: http://theunleadedband.com/pages/home
Saturday Mar 21, 2015:
The final night of the country weekend ended with a Chicago favorite Outshyne.
Members include Waylon Owings Lead Vocals/Acoustic guitar, Josh Coleman Guitar/Vocals, Casey Joe Guitar/Vocals, Jason Paxton Bass Guitar, and Smiley Norris on the Drums.
They have two albums out currently “Country Boy in Me” and “Startin’ over” and working on a third original album as we speak.
Their latest single is called “Ain’t” and has not been released as a music video yet but they give us a little teaser in this clip here:
Outshyne is a band from South Carolina and was originally formed in 2007, in 2010 they made music their full time career and have gathered a tremendous following.
Outshyne has opened for country superstars including, Jake Owen, Eric Church, Colt Ford, Joe Nichols, Gary Allen, and Justin Moore to only name a couple.
“Dirt Road Romance”, their first single, was actually written by the boys of Florida Georgia Line and Arlis Albritton it went #29 on the Music Row Chart and #46 on the Billboard Indicator Chart.
It comes from their second album “Startin’ Over” which was produced by by Grammy nominated Chip Matthews and Jeffrey Steele. It was so popular it debuted at #11 on iTunes the day it was released.
The second single “Moonlight Crush” hit #1 on Sirius XM’s The Highway Countdown and also was the stations #18 song of 2014.
2014 was a big year for the members of Outshyne, in Jan they signed with Sony Red and were featured on the CMT website and by Sep signed a booking deal with Buddy Lee Attractions.
These guys really do perform great. They have great energy and you can tell they love what they do.
I will say before going to see one of their live shows brush up on their original songs because a big chunk of the set lists were made up of the originals which was great I just personally like to listen to an audio version before I hear it live.
If you haven’t seen Outshyne play you are seriously missing out on a great time.
I have never seen the dance floor of Skooters Barn so packed before the band took the stage except for Keith Anderson and Chris Cagle.
There were plenty of fans there that night that had traveled long distances just to see these guys play which is the sign your about to see an amazing performance!
They interact with the crowd and play off each other’s energy and all in all it is just a great time!
To learn more about Outshyne or to listen to more of their music, or see the next time they will be in the Chicagoland area visit their band page at: http://home.outshynemusic.com/
I have also been published in National Geographic for an article I wrote about a Research trip with the Shedd Aquarium check it out: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/02/iguana-research-on-gaulin-cay-bahamas/
- The Roadhouse Review: Apr 3 and 4 - April 8, 2015
- Cagle: Country cowboys or darling diva? - April 6, 2015
- The Roadhouse Review Mar 27 and Mar 28 - March 30, 2015
