Concert Reviews

Terri Clark

Clay Walker Four Star Blowout
Concord Pavillion
April 18th 1997

Concert Review by Jeff Krasky

The Concord Pavillion hosted one of the biggest tours of 1997 on Friday, April the 18th. The Clay Walker Four Star Blowout featuring Clay with special guests Terri Clark, Emilio and James Bonamy. The show proved to be all it was promoted to be. A long concert filled with today's hottest country music!

The dreary weather of the day provided an interesting challenge for the artists. They had to get the minds of the people with lawn seats off the heavy rain which they were sitting in and onto their music.

The first act up was Texas native Emilio!

Emilo's set was a short one containing a little over 20 minutes of music but in this time he proved himself as a seasoned performer.

One of his band members spend most of the set dancing around, for the most part to the fans approval. It was when Emilio jumped in with him that the crowd went wild!

The whole set Emilio keep mentioning the other acts that were on their way and whether he meant it to or not it helped make the fans slide closer to the edge of their seats.

After a short intermission the crowd welcomed James Bonamy to the stage. In the next twenty minutes Bonamy won over the hearts of just about every female in attendance with songs like “I Don't Think I Will.” Every time he would get flowers from a fan, she would get a kiss on the hand in return. He also sang another one of his hits “Dog On A Toolbox” along with his new single “The Swing”

James showed a side of artists we normally don't see. The side that is in total appreciation of his fans. He spent more time on his knees giving people hugs and shaking hands than anyone else I have ever seen.

James left the stage after thanking the fans who were going crazy and we awaited the appearance of Terri Clark.

There was once again a intermission while the stage crew prepared for Terri. They opened up more of the stage to make room for Terri's wild performance. The lights dimmed and the crowd came off their hinges!

Terri's shadow appeared on the small staircase towards the back of the stage, standing in the center of her band. The intro music to “Better Things To Do” was almost drowned out by the crowds applause.

The lights came on suddenly and Terri ran down the stairs to her mic, just in time to start the song. Smiling and playing with the crowd Clark was just getting started!

Terri's show contained all her hit songs like “Emotional Girl”, “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” and “When Boy Meets Girl”. A lot of the fans spent most of the set on their feet dancing around, having just as much fun as Terri. Clark joked with the fans and sang her heart out. At the end of her hit ballad “If I Were You” everyone thought she was crying.

Besides the dancing and wild sprints up and down the stage Terri's voice proved to be flawless. The feeling and power thrown into every note made her stage performance better than anything you will find on her studio albums. An accomplishment for any artist!

After running up and down the stairs, playing the drums for her drummer, jumping back down the stairs and dancing around with “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” Terri exited the stage as the crowed roared. The lights dimmed but the crowed refused to stop their chants for Terri.

The shadows of the band making their way back to the instruments only drove the crowd farther off the edge. Terri walked back onto the stage with a huge smile on her face and waved to the crowd before jumping into one of the tracks off her first album “Something You Should've Said.”

The crowd which was already wound up from Terri's performance waited almost impatiently for Clay Walker to make his way to the stage. After an extremely loud crowd response to the appearance of Clay's shadow in the dark the stage lights came on and Clay stepped down to the mic.

The greatest thing about Clay's set was the way he interacted with the crowd. Every song had an introduction and this really made the crowd feel close to him and his music. This combined with constantly asking for the fans to sing along helped keep them involved with the show.

Clay sang just about every single he has ever released and then pulled out a few new ones. The mix of music was great and kept everyone on their toes wondering what was next next. When Clay left the stage little did anyone know that there was plenty more music on the way!

The encore Clay sang was an amazing display of vocal variety. The songs ranged from rock to the blues. They were all based around a piano game that Walker played with the crowd. A story about his “club” days would follow with him playing a small intro to a song on the keyboard before the band jumped in and he would sing the song.

This kind of creativity I have only seen from the likes of Reba McEntire and when I left the amphitheater I couldn't help but wonder what to expect from Clay in the future! This show, combining the talents of Clay Walker, Terri Clark, James Bonamy and Emilio was truly a amazing display of country music and if you can get tickets, it is worth every penny!

Terri Clark Live Concert Photos