Chris Cagle is an artist I’ve long liked and knew that, based on his two Capitol albums; he had the goods to be a star. Unfortunately I had never had the chance, prior to today, to see Chris live. He opened the show up with his first Top 10 hit “Laredo.” Followed up quickly by the rockin’ “Play It Loud,” Chris immediately had the crowd pumped and primed for what would turn out to be one of the best shows I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. The glorious ballad “Ton Of Love” followed next with Cagle discussing his appreciation that he gets to do what he does for a living. The funky, lyrically strong “Love Between A Woman And A Man” came next and it was about this time that Chris, ever the showman, was in full force clapping the front row’s hands and smiling and waving to the crowd. About the same time he picked up someone’s cell phone and started to sing into it. This is a trend that’d continue throughout the show. Also by this time many of the female fans (Cagleheads) moved up through the aisles to get their shot at saying hello to Chris.
The country rocker “Night On The Country” played very well to crowd that was at this country setting. After this, Chris had the audience singing along to a cool cover of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.” Right after that Chris talked some more thanking everyone for being there and told the crowd in the back to feel free and move up closer to the state or stand up in their seats to see a better show. After saying “let’s go back to where it all started,” Chris broke into his first hit “My Love Will Go On And On.” After the song, Chris talked about his struggle to “make it” in Nashville and how when the song was released, his dad called and said that he heard the song. Chris’ dad then said that the song didn’t matter, he was proud of Chris for not asking for a dime of help for over 10 years. Staying up tempo Chris next sang about the perfect woman and how he “Loves It When She Does That.” “Everything” was next then Chris talked about how his next song was written about a bad relationship and how it’s gone on to mean other things to people as time has moved on. Chris dedicated “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out” to both Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings along with our troops that are protecting our freedom (which was met with uproarious applause from this military filled area; more than a few bases are within an hour or two from Enumclaw). After a tearful rendition of the song, which included Chris singing to a troop in Iraq via the cell phone, Cagle discussed how we are lucky to live in the USA and stuff but we’re truly blessed to be “Country By The Grace Of God.”
After a short interlude, Chris came out by himself and acoustically performed one of my favorite songs ever, Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” The second song of the encore was Chris’ Top 10 hit “What A Beautiful Day.” This one again found Chris discussing the military and again, he was on the cell phone to a military person (each cell-phone “session” wasn’t but 30 seconds long at the most). With his signature song yet to be played; the crowd knew what was next. “Chicks Dig It” had the girls screaming for Chris as he sang the song.
As I walked away from my seat, I felt very content. It was a phenomenal show that I had just witnessed. Blaine said he’d be signing autographs after the show (at the merchandise tent) and, during the show, Chris talked about following dreams and that, no matter how far fetched they may seem, he’s living proof that dreams do come true. After hitting the fair for a bit to get some last minute snacks, I walked over to Blaine’s booth and received his autograph. He was personable and very friendly and seemed to genuinely love talking to the fans. On my way out the gates, I noticed Chris was signing some autographs for a small group of people. That was the perfect way to cap off a truly memorable show. If you ever get the chance to see either Blaine Larsen or Chris Cagle in concert, do it. You’ll never regret it.
Set list:
- Laredo
- Play It Loud
- Ton Of Love
- The Love Between A Woman And A Man
- Night On The Country
- Drift Away (Dobie Gray cover)
- My Love Goes On And On…
- I Love It When She Does That
- Everything
- I Breathe In, I Breathe Out
- Country By The Grace Of God
Encore:
- Rocket Man (acoustic Elton John cover)
- What A Beautiful Day
- Chicks Dig It
[ Blaine Larsen's Show | Chris Cagle's Show ]
