Eddie Montgomery has been through a lot over the past seven months, but it still won’t stop him from bringing one hell of a show whenever he steps onto the stage. The 54-year-old singer did just that when Montgomery Gentry stopped at Thirsty Cowboy in Medina on Friday (March 16) at Thirsty Cowboy for their sold out show.
Montgomery came to the stage wearing his signature Charlie 1 Horse hat, three-quarter length jacket and red cowboy boots. From the moment he stepped on to the stage he kicked right into high gear, moving from one side to the other, flipping and twirling his mic stand like a baton and playing to the crowd the whole time.
The show started with “Where I Come From” which ripped the capacity crowd into a frenzy that would last for the next 75+ minutes. Being without his singing partner may have affected Montgomery, and he has said he keeps looking for Troy Gentry over his shoulder on stage at times, but he has always been the showman on stage and that doesn’t seem to have been affected in the least. The band did place one of Gentry’s signature white guitars on the stage that was a constant reminder of their fallen friend.
The set continued with some of Montgomery Gentry’s biggest hits and covered nearly two decades of music in the process. Some of the favorites included “My Town,” “Gone,” “One In Every Crowd” and “What Do Ya Think About That.” They also performed “King of The Worlds” and “Drink Along Song” from the latest album Here’s To You which was released in February.
The Montgomery Gentry band did a great job filling in for Gentry’s vocals throughout the night and their years of performing together were apparent throughout the show. But, all eyes were definitely on Montgomery, and he seems to command that attention. It’s hard to say what will happen with Montgomery Gentry when this tour is over, but whatever it is the ‘friends’ (fans as Montgomery Gentry has always referred to them as) will be there to come out to see Eddie Montgomery, if it as a solo act or if he continues to carry on the Montgomery Gentry name.
Ray Scott was a great opening act for this show with his more traditional sound that definitely fit right into the vibe on this night at Thirsty Cowboy. The deep voiced singer has made a name for himself writing songs for Trace Adkins, Clay Walker, Randy Travis and many other artists. He brought to his set some of his songs from his four albums including “Drinkin’ Beer” and “Those Jeans,” which were definitely crowd favorites, as well as tunes from his latest album Guitar For Sale.
When the show ended the first track played by the Thirsty Cowboy DJ was “Better Man,” from Montgomery Gentry’s latest album. The song was one that featured the lead vocals of Gentry and was also the last song played at his memorial service. The lyrics reflect on the duo’s wild reputation and admittedly express how they are working on a better version of themselves. If the performance on Friday night is evidence of that, they are right on track.
Set List
“Where I Come From”
“Lonely And Gone”
“Couldn’t Change Me”
“Something To Be Proud Of”
“Hell Yeah”
“Lucky Man”
“All Night Long”
“Daddy Won’t Sell The Farm”
“Drink Along Song”
“King of The World”
“What Do Ya Think About That”
“Speed”
“One In Every Crowd”
“My Town”
“Gone”
“Hillbilly Shoes”