Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville 11/17--wow!

Bucky Covington on stage at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, 11/17; photo by the very kind Buckyflowers, who shares more of her beautiful concert shots here. Thanks for the great images, Buckyflowers! Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music video for "A Different World" is available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can buy Bucky's album at Amazon, Best Buy , iTunes, WalMart Music and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT and GAC, or enjoy samples of songs from the CD at Bucky's official MySpace. A copy of Bucky Covington can be ordered at his official site or via his official fan club.

Before we get started, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank our very gracious friend Hildi for her many kindnesses--we all missed you fiercely on Saturday!

Links in the recap are to Lady Lee (Lecia's) awesome Wildhorse Saloon videos at Brightcove--major thanks to you for sharing these priceless clips.

For the past few weeks, I've been raving about the Raisin' the Bar tour here at Buckymania; posting the schedule, linking to recaps and photos, and reminding all and sundry that the best policy was to snag your seats soon, because this tour is blazing hot. Now that I've had a chance to hear and see it firsthand from a fantastic spot at the beautiful Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, all I can say is--snag your seats soon, because this tour is blazing hot. Wow.

There are some excellent recaps of the Nashville concert posted in the Bucky Covington fan thread at AmericanIdol.com; Buckyflowers, Dixiegirl7 and Happydays all shared their impressions of a musical night to remember there, and if you're an official fan club member, you'll find more recaps at the BuckyCovington.com boards (registration required.) Chances are very good that Buckaholic's fun recap will be appearing at Bucky's CMT.com board soon, too--stay tuned.

As for me? I was simply blown away by the experience.

Photo by Honeygirl--click the image to see more of her great Wildhorse shots. Thanks, Honeygirl!

The night started off with Cole Deggs and the Lonesome's revved-up set--they made a terrific impression on me a few months back at the WGAR Country Jam in Cleveland, and their Wildhorse performance was every bit as solid. CD&L have a distinctively Southern tough-but-tender sound; there's a genuine bar-brawler's edge to their brand of country/rock, but on numbers like "Everybody's Beautiful" and their debut hit "I Got More", that roughness is laced with just the right dash of sweetness. Cole's engaging on-stage strut is neatly and appealingly balanced by his brother Shade's intensity; and Jimmy Wallace's keyboard underpinnings add a flavorful dash of soul. (Buy their CD, y'all...was that subliminal enough? They're good.)


Photos of Caitlin Evanson and Bucky and Rocky Covington by Bucky- flowers-- thank you!

Bucky Covington was the second act of the night, and with all the dedicated fans who turned out for the show, his time on the Wildhorse stage was bound to be a party from start to finish...and indeed it was! His set opened with "Back When We Were Gods"--an interesting, rather contemplative song to start with, but it really gave the first and best hint of how much the newly augmented band would add to the sound. Rocky Covington's stylish bongo playing and Caitlin Evanson's soft fiddle added a richness and mellowness that underscored the nostalgic mood perfectly. There was a bit of tech trouble here as Bucky's mic levels were adjusted--but once we could hear him, he sounded just wonderful. After that, the band launched into "It's Good to Be Us" (as Happydays mentioned, a gratifying percentage of the audience knew the words and sang right along), and the Bucky-fan contingent was on its feet and stayed standing, clapping and dancing for the rest of his set.

Caitlin and Bucky shared vocals on a rousing "Empty Handed"--their voices and stage attitude blended brilliantly as she sang the second verse on her own and they belted out the chorus together. Her addition to the mix is really a stroke of genius...not only is she engaging to watch, but her fiddle and her singing truly enhance Bucky's graceful country/rock balance. It was most notable on "A Different World", which sounds softer, gentler and more "country-country" live with the bigger, full-bodied band.


Bucky was in excellent voice and his onstage charm was in full effect, of course--we got plenty of exuberant dancing, a huge crowd response to that "Tennessee moon" move during "Back When We Were Gods", and some real sweetness when Bucky hopped out into the crowd during "I'm Good", hugged a happy lady in the audience and danced with an adorable youngster. Again, Rocky's percussion really enhanced the classic Bo Diddley beat of this tune--and his cool moves as he played were adored by his many fans in the bunch. Rocky also got some great front-and-center time during "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", which elicited major screams, especially when he walked away with the microphone...

Naturally, "Suspicious Minds" , "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and "Should've Been a Cowboy" were big sing-along hits with the Wildhorse crowd, but one of the biggest hits of the night was Bucky's own "Bible and the Belt". Not everyone in the audience seemed familiar with it at first, but by the time Bucky launched into the chorus for the second time, there were lots of arms pumping and feet stompin'. That is a serious killer number live with a big band.

I am about as biased as I can be, but this was without a doubt one of the very finest sets I have ever heard and seen Bucky do. Huge kudos to him and to his incredible band--they really, really rocked the house!


Photo by Honeygirl--click image to see more.

Jason Michael Carroll closed the show with a bang--his athletic grace on stage can't be denied, and he sure knows how to flirt with the audience. His fans are a spectatularly cool and devoted bunch; we met some lovely people, and as you can imagine, he and Bucky have plenty of mutual listeners and supporters. After his and Bucky's sets that night, it's safe to say there are even more of us now. Jason's "Waitin' In the Country" (written by Cole Deggs, who came out and joined Jason for a few choruses) was a standout, as was a particularly rockin' version of 'Livin' Our Love Song". (Jason also mentioned that the song had just officially gone Top 5--congratulations!) He defly shifted the mood for "Alyssa Lies", and did a shockingly cool cover of "Take it on the Run". (Yes, the REO Speedwagon hit--it sounded like another song altogether done in a sexy North Carolina-accented baritone...) The ponytail-undoing and headbanging about two-thirds of the way through his set wasn't exactly a musical event, but it sure got a big, big reaction...

Photo by Honeygirl--thanks again!

The night ended on a funny, sweet, happy, chaotic note with--you guessed it--"Freebird". Bucky and Cole came out to join Jason for that one, and they sang and signed autographs from the stage. At one point, Bucky grabbed Cole for a quick foxtrot at stage right; at another, Cole pulled a little girl on stage to dance with him, which prompted Jason to shake his head and say "Ma'am, there is no way I would let my daughter dance with Cole Deggs" to laughs and cheers. And at the very, very end, a familiar figure strolled out on stage--it was Rocky, with ponytail undone, and he and Bucky danced a cool side-by-side slide that gave the audience their final hearty scream of the night.

From the first moment we saw Bucky on Idol, to his awesome show last Saturday at the Wildhorse, one thing's remained constant--his absolute, visible, audible joy of performing, and his incredible ability to make sure you're feeling that joy, too. I was dead on my feet and exhausted after a hard day's work when I got to the Wildhorse, but by the end of the night, I was grinning from ear to ear. I don't use the word "magical" lightly...but I do believe it fits. Do not, under any circumstances, miss this tour, y'all! Here are the remaining dates--get your ticket now and you can thank me later. (Go!)

November 23 Coyote Joe’s Charlotte, NC [tickets]
November 24 The Blind Horse Saloon Greenville, SC [tickets]
November 28 Uncle Ron's, Lincoln NE (402) 474-2332
November 30 Beaumont Club Kansas City, MO [TM]
December 1 Billy Bob’s Texas Fort Worth, TX (11/5 at [TM])
December 5 Northern Lights Clifton Park, NY [tickets]
December 6 Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse Burgettstown, PA [TM]
December 7 Crocodile Rock Café Allentown, PA [TM]
December 8 Rams Head Live! Baltimore, MD [tickets]

Edited to add a heads-up on some Wildhorse-related goodness at Team Covington, where Kathy has links to two beautiful concert photo sets by Icyfire and Buckaholic. Thanks to Kathy and to the kind photographers for sharing...

News post next--come on back!--Winnie