SAN ANGELO, TX — “Gary Allan put on a great show didn’t he?” promoter Kris Randolph said as the lights came on at the 1st Community FCU Spur Arena Saturday night.
Gary Allan didn’t disappoint the 3,000 appreciative fans who came Saturday night for the inaugural Concho Valley Spring Jam. It took him three songs and the crowd was hooked. Each masterfully performed by his by is six-man band.
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The highlight of the evening was Allan’s performance of “Her Man,” the Kent Robbins song originally recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1990 record, “The Eagle.” Allan made the song a hit off his 1996 record “Used Heart for Sale.”
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“I almost didn’t record is because it has the line, ‘’Cause I’ve got a woman who’s better than most.’ What the hell does that mean?” Allan asked the audience.
With the stage dimmed, Allan began the song with just himself and his acoustic guitar. The contrast between the previous hard-hitting full band songs and just having Allan alone on stage with just a guitar offered a surreal experience. It was as if he was performing A cappella, if not for the guitar.
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Allan’s repertoire of music follows the general theme of “Her Man.” While “Her Man” is the promise to do better, many of the other songs are about the heartache of failed relationships. The relationships form a literal and metaphorical connection with fans about life being tough.
Even fun songs, like “Watching Airplanes,” which he performed last before his two encores, should be a fun song. What is more fun than watching airplanes takeoff? Not according to Allan’s song. Onboard one of those jets is his woman who left him because she doesn’t love him anymore.
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“Gary Allan’s music saved my life,” a close friend in Generation X told me Saturday night. Gen X came of age after the previous generation, the Baby Boomers, destroyed the institutions and anchors of society. Gen X was left with a disheveled, messy room to live in with no instructions on how anything works. They made mistakes and lived with the heartache of those mistakes. Allan burst onto the music scene in 1996, about the time Gen X was coming of age. Allan's songs tell his fans, 'It's all right. I've lived through it as well. It's not just you.' He wrote the soundtrack for that generation.
Opening for Allan were Phil Hamilton and the Eli Young Band.
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Above: Phil Hamilton in San Angelo on May 5, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
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Above: The Eli Young Band in San Angelo, May 5, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
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Above: The Eli Young Band about to go on stage on May 5, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)
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