By Molly Brodhacker | Staff Writer
Maybe it was the fact that I was in the front row, or possibly that I met Casey himself, or the friendly atmosphere; but the Casey Donahew concert on Saturday, December 10th was certainly a night in heaven. Cowboy’s Dance Hall hosted the event, and proved a perfect country setting for the event.
I’m not too much of a cowgirl myself, to say the least, but after much persuasion and finding the perfect plaid shirt, I was good to go. When I first arrived, the house band hadn’t even gone on stage yet, and there was just some music playing over the speakers. Couples were two-stepping to their hearts desire on the large wooden dance floor. Some of them were even doing flips and other advanced moves, to my amazement. There was also a really cool mechanical bull that people could ride for the iconic time frame of “eight seconds”.
Marty Heddin and The Country Blues took the stage first, and they were surprisingly great. Playing fan favorites like “Here for a Good Time” and “Crazy Girl”, they were crowd-pleasers with extremely versatile vocals by a charismatic lead singer.
Finally, the big moment was there- Casey and his band came appeared. Like I previously said, I was in the front row, which turned out to be a little unpleasant as my ears didn’t stop ringing until the next morning. Donahew is a master of the guitar, constantly switching instruments and never missing a chord as he sang. People flooded to the stage, but unlike at other concerts, didn’t try and push to get up to the front. Instead, folks lingered in the back, where they were simply content to listen. I was so surprised that everyone was being extremely considerate of others around them instead of shoving to the front like they usually are (yes, I am guilty of this too).
Donahew’s set lasted a good hour; maybe an hour and a half, even. He played classics by Kid Rock and Matchbox 20 as well before exiting the stage. Then, to everyone’s amazement, Donahew came into the crowd and began meeting and signing autographs. He was extremely down-to-earth and very kind to everyone.
Overall, the concert was a great first country experience, with Donahew putting on a great show and Cowboy’s putting on a great event.
