Today's Country

BUCKY COVINGTON
WUSN's "8 Shows At Joe's"
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
@ Joe’s Bar in Chicago, IL

By: Robin Dolezal

The summer is winding down but that doesn’t stop Chicago country music fans from flocking to Joe’s Bar on Weed Street to enjoy the next installment of “8 Shows at Joes” sponsored by US99.5, Coors Light, Best Buy, Blue Chip Casino, and Comcast. As soon as it was announced that American Idol’s Bucky Covington was the 6^th performer chosen to play at Joe’s Bar the phones kept ringing off the hook at US99.5 from the many fans trying to win tickets. What a great way to wind down from the Labor Day Weekend by enjoying a great performer put on a great show, both filled with energy as well as emotion. Be sure to stop by the Joe’s Bar website to see all the exciting upcoming shows at http://www.joesbar.com/ as well as the concert schedule at US 99's website http://www.us99.com/.

Bucky Covington - A 7 piece band took the stage and immediately the lead guitarist played a great guitar intro to “American Friday Night”. Bucky was hot as fire as he exploded on to stage with his red shirt and long wavy hair. Even Bucky’s brother Rocky was on fire as he displayed his showmanship by playing the bongos with one hand and the tambourine in the other. The band immediately transitioned into “Back When We Were Gods” as Bucky strapped on his guitar and the excitement grew as he turned his back to the crowd and bent down to rub his butt as he sang the line, “so we pulled over and showed them a Tennessee moon from the California side”. The room filled with a loud applause as the ladies in the front row screamed for Bucky to show them more. The second drummer began the intro into the third song of the night “Different World”, a song about growing up when the world wasn’t so worrisome and for the second time in the night Bucky lifted up his shirt to show off his belt and rubbed his butt when he sang the line “got daddy’s belt when we misbehaved”, clearly making this his signature move of the night.

Before starting into the fourth song of the night Bucky took some time to talk to the audience. “You sound good Chicago. How many of you know the words to this song? Are you going to give me a hand?” he asked as the band started the riff into Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds”. This was a great country rendition with a slightly faster beat. Of course the band came to a full stop in the middle of the song to sing the lines “Oh let our love survive, Or dry the tears from your eyes, Let's don't let a good thing die” before speeding it up again to create a dramatic ending to the song as the audience participated. Bucky then sang a song off his new album titled “Giants”. When the song ended he talked about the release of his new album. “Some of you have asked when my new album is going to be released and I have some news for you. I have no idea!” he said as he broke into a large smile. “I just want to thank the crowd for my success since American Idol and just between you and me, it doesn’t suck!” He continued to talk to the crowd about listening to songs on the radio and there was one in particular from Willie Nelson that he knew he had to learn. Then he broke into “Seven Spanish Angels” and halfway into the song he introduced his twin brother who took the microphone and took over singing the next verse in the song. Bucky and Rocky finished out the song together showcasing not just their ability to harmonize well but also the synergy between the both of them. This continued as Bucky sang the next 2 songs “I’m Good” and “Mexicoma”, a track off his new album, while Rocky once again played on the bongos. The sound created was a laid back Caribbean feeling that just might give Kenny Chesney a run for his money. When the bongos silenced down Bucky slowed things down to sing “Hold A Woman”, another new song off his album that he stated showed off his sexy side. He kept things slow as he sang his power ballad “I’ll Walk”. If he didn’t have most of the women in tears after the first verse he sure did when he came to the edge of the stage and sang to the audience. After this touching moment he really showed a deeper side of his personality by jumping off the stage to sing the rest of the song to a woman in wheelchair. When the song ended, the crowd took a few moments to catch their breath as Bucky began to sing “Unchain My Heart” by Ray Charles. The band slowed down the beat just slightly as Bucky strutted back and forth on stage while flipping the microphone between his hands. At one point he almost dropped the mic but made a quick recovery as the shouts of applause grew and he continued to sing without missing a beat.

Bucky highlighted another new song titled “Evil Knievel” and showed he was having too much fun sliding around on stage that he almost fell, but caught himself at the last minute and addressed the crowd, “It’s been a bad day folks” as he flashed a smile. Before starting the next song he encouraged the crowd to call up US99.5 and request them to play this next song, which is a sentiment that most of us feel as we battle through the hard times of the economy. After the band ended the song “I Want My Life Back”, Bucky addressed the audience again with some comedic banter that showed off his sense of humor. “I love Chicago so much that I plan on playing the best show for you, but that’s tomorrow.” The crowd started to shout back which Bucky interrupted, “If you were paying attention I told you I was off tomorrow. So, I do plan on giving you the best show tonight but if all else fails I will become a stand up comedian. Not a good one but since I worked in a body shop for 10 years with my dad I do know tons of jokes, but there aren’t any jokes that are clean enough to recite here.” Bucky did go on to tell a ridiculous joke about a cow which got negative feedback from the crowd to which he yelled “Shut Up” with his country twang that had the crowd laughing in hysterics. The phrase “Shut Up” became his second signature of the night with the crowd energized and wanting more.

Bucky commented on how he has been able to travel throughout the country and the men and women who protect it and the amount of rednecks there are everywhere. He then sang “Bible And The Belt” before picking up his electric guitar and transitioning into Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”. The energy was so high at this point, with the blue lights flashing to the lead guitarist as he played to perfection the guitar solo. When the song ended the band came back for a 2 song encore that included “Good To Be Us” and “Hands To Yourself” by Georgia Satellites. During the last song Bucky introduced each band member as they all played individual solos to highlight the instrument they were playing. First up was Scott Saunders on the keyboards playing Van Halen’s “Jump”. Next up was Steve Cook on the bass guitar playing “Message In A Bottle” by The Police. Tom Hurst on the drums played “Rock-N-Roll” by Led Zepplin. Jeff Cease on lead guitar played the theme song from the movie Pulp Fiction and Ducky, the other guitarist, Don Medlock, and long time friend of Bucky’s played “Crazy Train” by Ozzie Osbourne. The entire band broke into “Going To Fly Now” as Bucky introduced his twin brother, Rocky. Bucky showed his personality to the audience which makes him such a crowd pleaser with fans all around because he doesn’t let the fame and fortune get to his head. He’s a likeable artist that keeps things real by talking with, not down to the audience, and creating a humorous and light hearted show that is balanced with high energy music and entertainment.