southern rock
Outlaws Take Over Thunder Valley
The Outlaws
Southern rock band The Outlaws performed in Thunder Valley Casino Resort’sPano Hall on Friday.
The Outlaws formed in 1967 and have been playing off and on since that time.
Founding members Henry Paul (lead singer/guitar) and Monte Yoho (drums), were joined by Chris Anderson (guitar), Randy Threet (bass), Dave Robbins (keyboards), and Bill Crain (guitar).
Kicking off their set with “Tomorrow’s Another Night” and “Love Song” it was evident that most of the audience was made up of diehard fans as they started singing along with the band.
They played quite a few new songs from their latest album It’s About Pride.From my past experience when older bands start playing their newer “stuff”, they tend to lose the audience, but that was not the case. Their fans remained engaged throughout their set with most of them on their feet.
The Outlaws
There was a problem with Crain’s amp when halfway through “Love Song” his guitar shutdown. After several frantic minutes of changing out the amp, he was able to resume once they started “Hurry Sundown”, one of their newer songs.
Checkout Thunder Valley Casino’s upcoming winter concert schedule!
Setlist:
Tomorrow’s Another Night
Love Song
Hurry Sundown
Hidin’ Out in Tennessee (new)
Freeborn Man
Born to Be Bad (new)
Grey Ghost
Main Street
Gunsmoke
Last Ghost Town (new)
Right Where I Belong (new)
Waterhole
Knoxville Girl
It’s bout Pride (new)
Trail of Tears (new)
Green Grass
Encore
Ghost Riders
A little bit of Country at Thunder Valley
Trace Adkins – Click for more images
Trace Adkins brought his Songs and Stories Tour to Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s outdoor amphitheater Friday night.
As Adkins made his way down center stage the sold out crowd went wild with cheers – There was some hootin and hollerin too, after all it was a country music concert.
Kicking it off with “Days Like This,” Adkins had the women eating out of the palm of his hand, maybe a few guys too. Driving that point home, as soon as he finished “Days Like This,” he stopped and said in his deepest, throatiest voice, “Good evening Thunder Valley, it’s nice to be here.” He said something after that, but I couldn’t hear a damn thing he was saying with all the women screaming.
I don’t get it! Here’s some guy who’s tall in a rugged way, long flowing hair, muscular, has a deep voice, and comes across as a tough, but nice guy. So why do all the women simply love this guy? Oh well.
Click for more images
He started by welcoming everyone to his Songs and Stories Tour and letting them know he wasn’t beginning the concert in his usual manner saying, “This show is a little different from what we usually do, where we come out and put a boot in your ass right off the get go. You will leave with a boot in your ass, but I aint going to do it yet.”
Adkins continued to play songs from his latest album Proud to Be Here, including “Poor Folks,” “Love Buzz,” and “It’s Who You Know.”
Prior to starting “Semper Fi,” he wanted everyone to know that this was his “pathetic” attempt at writing a song about the marines, in particular a friend of his. After hearing the song, I’d say it was well written and definitely not a pathetic attempt – Is his manly charm rubbing off on me? Did I scream during that song? Oh crap! I think I need to go to an MMA fight!!
After singing one of his number one hits, “(This Ain’t No) Thinkin’ Thing,” Adkins and the crew took a break for about 15 minutes, which was a good thing, since it appears many of the concert goers were parched ““ they all headed to the bars!
Continuing after the break with “Ladies Love Country Boys,” “Chrome,” and “This Aint No Love Song,” much of the crowd continued to mingle with each other and cheering at just the right parts.
The boot in the ass came when Adkins started singing “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” with the crowd going completely crazy. Apparently they were waiting for a boot in the ass all night and finally got it. And for those of you out there as clueless as me, Websters defines badonkadonk as a well shaped female buttocks.
Adkin’s ended the show with “Ride,” which was a letdown coming off the heels of “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.” It would have made for a more climactic ending.
Adkins sounded great and put on a great show. I’m sure he now has another fan or two smitten over him.
Next week Foreigner comes to Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s Summer Concert Series, followed by Steve Miller the following week!
See you there!
Tuckered out at Thunder Valley Casino
Marshall Tucker Band - Click for more images
It was quite an evening at Thunder Valley Casino Resort Friday night as the Marshall Tucker Band and Sacramento’s own Road 88 played to an overflowing crowd in Pano Hall.
Kicking off the night was Road 88 led by Rachael Steele, whose vocals reigned supreme. Starting their set off appropriately with “Attitude,” followed by “Two More Bottles of Wine,” they were hitting on all cylinders.
Joining founding members Rachel Steele (vocals), Scott Prentice (guitar/vocals) and David Phelps (guitar) were Billy Haggard (guitar), Charlie McGimsey (drums), and Todd Prout (bass).
Road 88 was voted Best Local Band in Sacramento for 2011 by local television station KCRA’s A-list. At the time they had been together a couple of years and already had a hit climbing the charts in Europe with their song “Not Gonna Happen.”
Rachel Steele with Road 88 - Click for more images
Since that time there has been some shuffling of band members resulting in the lineup above. The move appears to be successful with some great guitar playing throughout their set, and a new level of energy, with Haggard bouncing around the stage, going from one performer to the next saying god knows what, but apparently making everyone laugh. The only question is – Were they laughing with him or at him?
Road 88 continued with a few of their original songs including “Drive” and “Child of Innocence.”
Prentice soloed with “That’s How They do it in Dixie,” followed by Steele closing their set in style with their original hard-driving “Faultline.”
After a quick set-change the Marshall Tucker Band took the stage with 64 year old founding member Doug Gray singing “This Old Cowboy.” As soon as the flute kicked in I was reminded of why Marshall Tucker’s music has stood out for all these years.
The Marshall Tucker band members included Marcus James Henderson (flute/sax/keyboards), Pat Elwood (bass), Chris Hicks (guitar), and B.B. Bordon (drums). The guys were the true stars of the show playing extended versions of their hits like “Hillbilly Band,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and “24 hours at a Time.”
Henderson was non-stop, playing the flute, on to the sax, over to the keyboards and then back again. He did an awesome job, earning him several well deserved standing O’s.
Marcus James Henderson with MTB - Click for more images
Gray, being the southern gentleman that he is, talked to the crowd in between songs, joking about his age and how the band has been around for 40 years. Focusing on one of the younger ladies in the front row, he joked about her not understanding what Winterland meant, referencing their legendary performance at Bill Graham’s Winterland auditorium in San Francisco back in 1973.
For their finale, “Can’t You See,” Gray had the audience singing “‘Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman has been doing to me,’ providing one of those “goose-bump” moments.
While Gray’s voice isn’t what it used to be, he still has that wonderful soulful sound, although a bit rough at times. The instrumentals were to die for, with soaring flute solos and hard driving guitar riffs. All executed with perfection.
The Marshall Tucker Band is truly an awesome instrumental group bursting at the seams with talent, making for a memorable performance and reminding me of a entire orchestra rather than a handful of performers.
