By: Alison Bonaguro
“When you get a new guitar, it’s like dancing with someone else’s wife,” Gary Allan said in the middle of his 90-minute show last night (Oct. 13) at Chicago’s House of Blues. As he introduced his new guitar to the sold-out crowd of about 1500 people, he went on to explain how he got it (drove two hours to meet some guy in a Shoney’s parking lot) and why (his guitars were crushed when a tornado struck at a show in Canada this summer).

So the fans got to meet his Gibson 1948 J-200, along with a handful of other guitars, over the course of his 20-song set. He opened with a new tune, “Get Off on the Pain,” but managed to mix things up with so many of the songs that showcase the gravel in his voice and his rock-heavy sound. (That said, the cry of the steel guitar was the biggest star of the show. Even Allan took the time to sit down and listen to CJ Udeen play at the end of “Learning How to Bend.” It was that good.)

[More:]

Most of Allan’s big hits were there, like “Nothing On But the Radio,” the piano-laced “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful,” “Watching Airplanes,” “Smoke Rings in the Dark” and “Best I Ever Had.” But the standout for me was when the band took a break and he did his soulful “Right Where I Need to Be” with just his acoustic guitar. He closed the show after catching a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label tossed onstage from someone in the crowd, and sang what he called his favorite whiskey-drinkin’ song, “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey.”

The tour continues Friday night (Oct. 16) in Houston and runs through New Year’s Eve with a show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.