CONCERT REVIEW — Vince Gill At The NY State Fair

I have had the opportunity to see a lot of outstanding country concerts, many of them as a benefit of working at WYRK. Still, I had never seen Vince Gill.

When I saw he was playing a show at the NY State Fair in Syracuse, I was determined not to miss it. I was planning a trip to the Fair anyway with some friends, and since this show was part of the free entertainment, I figured what better day to go?

I knew I was in for a treat, but this show surpassed my expectations. Vince opened with "One More Last Chance", and from then on, the hits kept coming. Over the next 105 minutes, he played just about every song you could ask for, over 20 in all. This included songs from his new album 'Bakersfield', his tribute to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, two of the all-time greats in country music.

Vince's voice sounded better as the show went on. He is 56 but can still hit some of those high notes, especially on "I Still Believe in You". All night long, I was waiting for him to really show his incredible guitar skills, which he did towards the end of the night. His extended solo at the end of "Pretty Little Adriana" was simply gorgeous. Then he tore it up on "Oklahoma Borderline". An encore of "Whenever You Come Around" and "Liza Jane" was the perfect end to a wonderful evening of traditional country.

I should also mention Vince's stellar band, which included awesome steel guitar work from Paul Franklin, who also plays on the new album.

This show was well worth the drive. Someday, someone will do a Vince Gill tribute album. He is a legend in his own right.