A little bit of Texas came to Canada! The Eli Young Band took a right turn into southern Ontario for a couple of shows this week. So glad they did.
Tonight's coverage is from the stage at Casino Rama. What a great venue to see EYB, and from my vantage point (right smack dab in the middle of the stage rush) the near capacity crowd was loving it. They were primed for a good time and Mike Eli and the boys delivered in spades.
The second the house lights dropped I was swarmed at the stage-front pit area as plaid wearing country fans cheered, danced and sang along all night. What a great way to kick off the weekend.
There was no opening support act for this show, which meant it was all EYB! They opened with Drink You Up, straight into Turn It Up and man, it just kept rolling from there, changing tempos a little and completing a very well put together set list of high energy music. They also threw in a little Garth, Steve Miller, and Tom Petty to add some flavor plus we got treated to new music as well as many favorites.
Mike Eli joked with his audience at one point stating "you know, we're from down in Texas" and commenting on the obvious temperature differences at this time of year, which drew some laughs. He then said that our snowy homeland here in Ontario was "beautiful".
On the Valory Music Co. label (part of the Big Machine Label Group), Eli Young Band has plenty of material to draw from for their shows. Combine this with the nice big Casino Rama stage, brilliant lighting rig and some of the cleanest sound I've heard at a concert in some time and you've got live music utopia.
The band members covered the large stage well, giving fans at all angles a good look and lot's of high fives to the ones down in front. They simply love to play live, and it showed. Great vibe. After the show had ended, Mike stayed onstage signing autographs and taking selfies with some lucky fans. I love seeing artists take the time to interact with their fans. Awesome!
They now head back to the U.S. to continue their tour for the next few months and also make an appearance for their Academy of Country Music "Vocal Group of the Year" nomination. I obtained a copy of their set list. The last item on their list read: "Now it's time to go gamble". Being at the casino, I'm sure they had some wagering fun post-show. One thing for sure, it was no gamble for music fans who bought a ticket.Great show!!
Scott Burns - @SBurnsImages - Photographer
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Well if your reading this you must really be bored... So I was born and raised in a small town and have a thirst for good Canadian Whiskey and amazing Country Music.
