'Emerson Dirve' puts on a good show

April 21, 2005
By Christine Mastalio
Features Editor

Emerson Drive did a great job of getting audience interaction with the limited facilities available at the Adler. Their goofing off on stage added to their repertoire. I saw the pianist throwing spitballs during a lull in his part. One lucky girl even got her camera taken out of her hands for the band’s candid shots on stage.

The instrumentation was both diverse and excellent. The best part for me was the fiddler and bass guitar showdown. Every member of the band had highlighted parts and they tried to make the concert a personal experience.     

I am an avid country music fan, but I was still surprised at how many of Emerson’s songs I knew. Favorites like “Fishin’ in the Dark”, “Only God Can Stop Me Loving You”, and “Last One Standing” got great crowd reactions. The band picked some older cover songs, however, and it didn’t seem like anyone was familiar with those.

The size of the crowd was the biggest downfall to an otherwise wonderful concert experience. About half of the first floor of the Adler was filled, and the noise level was a little dim for a concert. It seemed to me like most of the Ambrose students there were wearing “Event Staff” shirts. I guess the lack of people, meant I got a great seat.

Jedd Hughes and the Metropolitans was a bland opening act. His Australian accent caused many girls to swoon, but it didn’t show up when he sang, so I think he was exaggerating it for attention. His band had some nice mellow songs, but their heavier “rock” numbers were boring. They seemed to have somewhat of an identity crisis between country and soft rock, between Australian auras and American.

Overall, Emerson Drive put on a good show and had considerable musical talent. The only complaints I had were a less than lively opening act and too few people in attendance.

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