The stage at Roberts Stadium was lit up Saturday night by three very talented country music acts. The show was scheduled to start at 7:30, but as we entered the stadium at 7:15 the music had already started. We made it to our seats in time to see the last two songs  from the opening act which consisted of a female singer with a beautiful voice accompanied by a fellow playing the fire out of an acoustic guitar. We didn’t know who it was, but we were amazed at how good those two sounded.  Turns out it was Sarah Buxton (Outside My Window; Stupid Boy), who just came out with her first CD. In between songs she engaged the audience with her fun personality, which kept our attention throughout her set.

The 2^nd act was very entertaining as well. I had heard many of Trace Adkins’ songs on the radio, but never payed much attention to them. When he took the stage all of that changed. Seeing him perform live made me realize just how many great songs he has put out over the years. He is a big redneck man who does big redneck songs and does them well. He only slowed down for a couple of songs, one of which hit #1 in ’07 (Your gonna miss this). In between songs Trace kept the audience captivated with his dry wit and humor. For an encore he performed “ Muddy Water”, a song about being baptized, and said he hoped that would make up for the other songs he did which might have offended some. By the crowds reaction no one was offended, and with a group of African American background singers from Evansville accompanying him, he ended his set creating an atmosphere of a southern Baptist revival meeting.

Martina Mcbride was the last performer of the evening. With her amazing voice and award winning songs she was able to entertain the audience until her last tune, which was “Living on a prayer” by Bon Jovi. Martina even took a ride over the audience on a swing shaped like a moon, which took her to another stage set up in the middle of the crowd. When she arrived at the additional platform, she performed two songs then walked back to the stage amid cheering fans. She blew the roof off the stadium several times with her ability to hit and sustain high notes , especially when she sang “Where Would You Be”. She ended her set with the Bon Jovi cover, as the audience celebrated by knocking beachballs around the stadium, including on the stage. This circus atmosphere was a great way for Martina to end the show.

reporting for KICKACTS,

Jarrod Brown

Orange Hour show

If you have never been to an Orange Hour show then you are missing out, and
if you have been to one of their shows, the melting of the face will stop
soon…I promise. You see what happens when you go to one of their shows is
you get torn up. If it’s not Nick beating you with his awesome rhythm and
clear beats, or Taylor dropping you to your knee with his awesome bass, then
it’s Darrell and Hugh melting your face with Darrell’s voice and Hugh’s
mastered guitar melting ability. Yes after the show you will not know
whether to try and keep your face from falling off your head or to scream
for more.

Seeing these guys live is phenomenal and I tell you when I heard them for
the first time I knew I was going to like them. Their style is hard to guess
since they are talented enough to jump from one sound to the other with no
problem.  From jazzy to alternative and in between, these guys know how to
get down.

Not many have heard from them, and there is a good reason for that, they’ve
been together for only a short period of time, and that’s what makes them so
good. You can tell musically they go together like coke and rum. One thing
you readers will learn about me is I don’t back something up that I
personally wouldn’t listen to myself. Speaking of which, Darrell I’m still
waiting for that cd.

Author’s note: You can see these guys every Friday at the Velvet Lounge in
Clearwater With ladies drinking free and guys you only got to
pay $3. You can also  Check them out at Orangehourmusic.com, or look for
them on myspace.

CE: Jon Tucker

 I just recently got to go to The Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville to see Lover Boy in concert.

J C Anderson was the opening act and the band was ok. They played covers to get the crowd warmed up. Nothing really stood out about the band but thats what opening bands are for the most part. But back to Lover Boy. It was a pretty packed house and we got to meet them before the show. It was a rushed meet and greet so there wasn’t anytime for autographs but thats how it goes.

In a nutshell, they kicked ass. These guys have beeen around since the early eighties and still rock out. They played all their hits and the band was sounding tight. Mike Reno did a great job on vocals and Paul Dean is a great guitar player. He has written some killer classic guitar riffs and is a top knotch player. They have Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve playing Bass and he kept it real and true to the original bass player Scott Smith’s riffs. Matt Frenette followed up on Drums with Doug Johnson on keyboards.

If you get a chance to see them you should check them out. You won’t be disappointed. Check out some of the fotos I took and the videos!