Much better seats tonight (6th row on the floor). I could literally see the sweat flying from McCray's face.
I came in the middle of the Reggie Saddler mess. His tracks weren't right so he had to improv for a bit with Eric Ollis on piano and Greg Fox on drums. They sounded ok, but MC Goff stopped them and told them to go get their music and come back later.
Next up was The Pfeifers. I left to use the restrooms. Came back too early though. Suffered thru the rest of it.
By then Reggie and Family was back and so they did three of their songs. They were entertaining as usual.
Gold City was up next after a wonderful introduction by Reggie Saddler. The boys from Gadsden really rocked the house again tonight. They were even better than Friday. This line-up will soon be recognized as the best in SG if they can keep these members.
The Talley Trio followed with a very good performance. They had a few vocal problems on the first song (Total Praise), but overall it was so good, no one probably even cared. His Life For Mine was a highlight of the night. Lauren is a star and only gonna get better.
The Booth Brothers were sensational. They put on one of the most exciting and entertaining sets of the weekend. They are also extremely strong vocally. My only disappointment was the lack of "He Saw It All", which they later sang in the closing program.
Mercy's Mark came next. I had very high expectations for this group and they came really close, really. The tenor is perhaps still getting his NQC legs, but should probably lay off Danny Funderburk classics for a while. If you perform Somebody Touched Me, you had better be close to flawless. Danny is still recent enough that there will be (unfavorable) comparisons. I thought that Christian Davis sounded very good.
Karen Peck and New River: Dinner time. Sorry Karen.
The Perrys were entertaining. Joseph is still transitioning from baritone to lead, but will work out fine. Nick Trammell sounds a good bit like his father and has that same kind of power. His voice is very clear also. He can be a great one.
The Florida Boys: Just like last night, they were solid. Featured Les on one song, and that was enough (sorry Les, but there is a reason you hired Josh). Did I say Gene was awesome yet? Josh Garner is working very hard to become my favorite lead singer.
Legacy Five: I'll be bluntly honest here. I had somewhat low expectations for this group. They easily exceeded these, however. Frank Seamons sounded the best I've ever heard him. I Found Grace was performed exceptionally. Glenn Dustin is an exceptional bass singer. In a genre that has many good young bass singers, he is one of the very best.
The Kingdom Heirs: I could hear them tonight! (See my last nights comments
here.) What I heard was an extremely polished sound. They are obviously comfortable with each other and the audience. Billy Hodges is a fine young tenor. I hope he stays with them a long time. Jeff Chapman was probably the lowest, most powerful bass I heard this weekend. He is awesome. Arthur Rice did a great job singing the lead, as he always does. Steve is good at singing the baritone part and finding exceptional talent to sing around him.
The Dove Brothers program tonight was much better than last night. There was still not a lot of singing, but it was entertainment at its finest. Jerry Martin showed more power and range combined than any other tenor this weekend. He is great. David Hester is another of the exceptional crop of young, extremely talented bass singers.
The Crabb Family: Like last night, I decided to give them one song to hold me in the audience. This time they came thru with "The Cross", a very nice performance. This and "Through The Fire" were the highlights of their set. The other stuff could've been left off (for me anyway).
The Kingsmen were next and I had recently heard them and was expecting a great performance. They suffered from what I consider poor song selection and a baritone who forgot some words (Better luck next time, Tony). Their lead singer still seems timid to me, or perhaps he's just not the power lead that we've come to expect from The Kingsmen.
The Inspirations: Coffee break.
The McKameys: They are not some of my favorites even though they have good songs. The song by The Fortners was the highlight of their set.
The Martins were the final group on the schedule. They mostly sounded like a group that shouldn't have been there. They seemed like they were off most everywhere. The one highlight was their a capella number.
The big finale was mostly fizzle. They really should NOT build this thing up if they cannot get the groups to come back and participate. Goff billed it as "all" the number one songs of the year. Well we heard one by The Kingdom Heirs and two by Lauren and The Talleys. Like I said, a big, over-advertised disappointment.
