The setting was perfect. The temperature was in the mid 70’s and the crowd was pumped. All this for Chris Cagle and his opening act, Buckley, Washington native Blaine Larsen.
Hosted by KMPS (of Seattle) and part of the King County Fairground’s “Dollar Daze,” the show started at 8pm but my day at the fair began at 12:30 pm. The show was a “general admission” show thus there was no particular seat assigned to anyone. Luckily for me the weather was great with nary a cloud in the sky and some great country fans there to talk to while waiting for a pristine spot. By the time 7pm rolled around, we were let in to the seating. While most of those in front of me (about 20 folks) made a mad dash for the first five rows, I casually found a center aisle seat 9 rows back. It was a great spot and provided me with the opportunity to take wonderful pictures of both Blaine and Chris.
As we awaited the KMPS emcee for the evening, Music Director Tony Thomas, I got my camera ready and talked to some friends around me. Shortly after 8 pm, Blaine took the Enumclaw, Washington (the next town over from Buckley) stage. Accompanied by just a lead guitarist and percussionist, Blaine showcased his immense talent. While I was very familiar with his talent via his wonderful “In My High School” CD, I still didn’t know what to expect of his stage show. Color me impressed.
The set began with Blaine’s mission statement for life; “That’s Just Me.” After talking to the crowd a bit, Blaine performed the well-written ballad “Teaching Me How To Love You.” The third song Blaine sang, “49 Places,” was written by his friend and producer Tim Johnson (“She Misses Him” The song discussed all the different states a guy’s ex must be in because she’s not in the same state he’s in thus there’s at least 49 other places she could be. The song has the potential to a big hit should Blaine record it for his next record. After saying that he wanted to try something different Blaine sang the fun Yesireebob.” about a guy who’s watching a TV show that features swimsuit models and shows the guys who hold the towels as they change suits (thus shielding the model from the cameras), Blaine simply says “How do you get that job, that’s what I want to know, where he went to school, that’s where I wanna go.” The special thing that happened is that Blaine had 2 pretty teenage girls hula dance on stage while he sang the song. He said afterwards that the idea came from a Jimmy Buffett concert he attended last year. Rounding out the show was Blaine’s regional hit song (which charted on Billboard’s chart) “In My High School.”
After the set was over, I was immediately impressed with what I had just saw. Blaine looked like he’d been performing for a long time. One nice thing was before singing his last song a little girl gave Blaine a bouquet of flowers and a note. He hugged her and thanked her and said, “I’ve never got flowers before.” I’m here to say that it won’t be the last time he gets the chance. Keep an eye out for Blaine Larsen in the future. He will be a star.
Set List:
- That’s Just Me
- Teaching Me How To Love You
- 49 Places (unreleased song)
- Yessireebob
- In My High School
[ Blaine Larsen's Show | Chris Cagle's Show ]
