Hot country newcomer Chase Rice and opening act Brian Davis rocked the small Kearney Amphitheater on August 8, 2015 to an overflowing and rowdy crowd.
Davis kicked off the night and was an instant hit – though the audience knew few of his songs, they quickly warmed up to him and were dancing and singing along to Davis’ “Party for Two” and “Postcard Pretty”. Brian’s interaction with the fans definitely helped reel them in as he showed each and every one of them how special they were, how he appreciated them being there to support him and his charismatic and energetic performance helped show the audience just what type of artist he is. Throughout his performance his undeniable musical ability shone again and again, leaving the audience not only impressed but wanting more. There is no doubt that if they weren’t a Brian Davis fan at the beginning of the night they left as one.
As the lights swirled around him, headliner Chase Rice took the stage with loud cheers from the swelling and anticipating crowd. While singing songs like “I Like Drinking Cause It’s Fun,” Chase interacted with the crowd by starting an audience challenge, determining which side of the crowd could sing louder. The crowd went wild, igniting Chase’s enthusiasm even more as he kicked it up another notch to give the fans exactly what they wanted, a high-intensity show.
Throughout his performance, Chase told multiple stories and explained why different songs were significant to him; telling the story of “pre-gaming” before going out in college, he used it as an intro to perform a variety of popular cover songs by artists such as Eric Church, Def Leppard, David Lee Murphy, Bon Jovi, and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers to mass delight from the crowd. However the most touching story was that of “Jack Daniels and Jesus” – Mr. Rice introduced the song, explaining that it is his favorite song off the album because of how real it is, and that he wrote it in his living room. His band left the stage as Chase sats down with an acoustic guitar (just the way he wrote it), elegantly lit by a spotlight and sang the song beautifully, letting the musicality speak for itself.
Bringing the show back to high intensity, Chase was thrown a curve ball – as he began talking to what he believed was a couple in the audience, the male stated how the song was going to help him get “lucky”. “Well your girl’s going to get lucky right now” Rice replied, bringing the young lady in accompaniment on stage. The tables were quickly changed when the girl informed Chase that the guy isn’t her boyfriend after all – both a surprise to Chase and the gentleman in the audience, Chase played it off wonderfully, telling her “We will pretend you didn’t just lie to me and that you are indeed with him, but now we are going to do a little roll play and forget anyone else is here.” Performing his song “Ride,” he focused on the audience member, one point breaking into laughter after rubbing her thigh. Some comments made during this interaction were a bit steamy for some ears of the young audience members, but overall the fans thought it was a riot.
Introducing “Cruise” as the only #1 hit he has written, Chase was joined by Brian Davis on stage to perform the hit, both giving a spectacular performance of the song made famous by Florida Georgia Line.
As the night came to a close, Chase took the time to introduce each band member in a unique way: his guitar players had a playoff, with Brandon Autry performing Blink 182’s “All The Small Things,” which Chris quickly followed up with “What’s My Name Again.” Bass Player Marcello Kravitz, from Brazil, hit center stage and was instructed he had to pick a country song. He quickly broke into Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Place” as Chase joined in singing. Last, but definitely not least, was drummer Jeremy Robison, a local of Kansas City. After a couple of simple drum solos, Chase teased him that he’d have to do better than that in his home town. Chase even brought Brandon’s daughter up on stage to egg Jeremy on and that was all it took as he let loose on an unbelievable drum performance that left the audience in awe.
Chase returned to stage for an encore with “Ready Set Roll” as the stage was lit up in a spectacular light show. Doing an extended version of the song and taking the time to thoroughly thank the fans, Chase ended the night signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans before leaving the stage.Though there were a few microphone issues throughout the night, both men gave spectacular performances and made the night a memorable one for all those in attendance.