THE SEXY COUNTRY CROONER WARMED UP A SNOWBOUND CROWD AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES
By Lori Hoffman – Atlantic City Weekly
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There are plenty of heartthrobs in country music, but nobody does soulfulness and heartache better than Gary Allan.
While Allan brought his infectious Bakersfield honkytonk and rock ‘n’ roll vibe to the House of Blues Saturday night, it was the Allan power ballads that ruled the night and kept the audience warm on a snowy night. As Allan noted, “You really must want to be here because it is ugly out there.”
Allan has a new album coming out in March and he opened his show at the sold-out Music Hall with the title track, “Get Off On the Pain.” Latter in the show he sang his first single off the album, “Today.”
As for the songs about love and heartbreak, they are some of his best, including the tear-worthy “Life Ain’t always Beautiful,” the sassy and sexy “Nothing On But the Radio,” “Songs About Rain” and “Still Learning How to Bend.” The latter’s video was filmed at the House of Blues in AC during a live performance.
In the category of love gone terribly wrong, you can’t beat a riled up Allan belting out the honkeytonk anthem “I Just Got Back From Hell.”
In the second half of the show Allan and his kickass band (including the lead guitarist in a kilt!), kept the energy level at smokin’ hot; in particular, his back to back combo of “Alright Guy” and “Man of Me” burned away any chill left from traveling in a snowstorm to see the show, reminding us he was more than worth it.
His encore was pure roadhouse rock, “Like That’s A Bad Thing,” and his favorite drinking song (the band passed a bottle of Jack Daniels), “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey.”
The opening act, North of Mason Dixon, also known as Nomad, delivered a nice country rock set. The Pittsburgh-based band announced that they will be regulars at Bally’s Mountain Bar later this year.
Tags: Atlantic City Weekly, House of Blues, Live
