| Concert Rating for this Show | | 3.4615 out of 5.0000 | | User Comments and Reviews for this Show | Review: Taylor Hicks flaunts finesse he picked up since his ‘American Idol’ debut
BY ANNE NEVILLE - News Staff Reviewer
Updated: 09/07/07 7:24 PM
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Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News
Taylor Hicks belts out a tune at his sold-out show Thursday in Seneca events Center.
The Soul Patrol was out in force Thursday night to hear Taylor Hicks, winner of the 2006 edition of “American Idol,” bring his idiosyncratic blend of blues, soul and rock to the sold-out Seneca Events Center.
The center is a big barn of a place, with 2,200 chairs on the carpeted floor, and it takes a lot of sound to fill it. Hicks and his tight five-man band did it well, without a misstep, through a 75-minute set that included Hicks’ own tunes, as well as music from the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Elton John.
Throughout the demanding show, Hicks showed impressive depth and versatility, though he seemed happiest, and most at home, singing his own tunes.
The band’s entrance brought cheers from the crowd, and when Hicks strode onstage, his iconic silver hair shining in the spotlight, the cheers became screams.
His first tunes, kicking off with the uptempo, rocking “Give Me Tonight,” showed off a more polished voice and movement than the chubby Taylor Hicks with the bowl haircut familiar to Idol viewers. Hicks is now lanky, and even the dance moves — which he laughingly referred to as “soul aerobics” in a preshow interview — are more coordinated and refined.
When he switched from the rocking opener to the slower “Gonna Move,” his voice grew in depth and color and he showed off the pipes to nice effect.
Hicks was a perpetual motion music machine onstage, playing guitar, harmonica and tambourine. He even took a few whacks at a cowbell during “Heaven Knows,” a complicated, soulful tune that pays homage to two of Hicks’ early influences by sampling Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” and Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar.”
He slyly flirted with the crowd during “Wherever I Lay My Hat,” with Hicks arching one eyebrow as he sang, “By the look in your eyes/I can tell you’re gonna cry/Is it over me?/If it is, save your tears/For I’m not worth it, you see/For I’m the type of boy who is always on the roam/Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.”
One of his best songs all night was “Soul Thing,” which originally appeared on “Under the Radar,” his second self-produced album from the days when, he remembers, he was lucky to sell 20 CDs a night after a gig in a bar.
“Soul Thing,” which, like many of the other tunes Thursday night, was featured on his debut 2006 platinumselling album, is an get-upand- dance narrative of what his music isn’t — not jazz, not country, but “a soul thing.” The melody incorporates classic jazz and blues riffs, expertly produced by his band, and had the crowd singing along. It’s a cleverly written song, and Hicks has been performing it for so long that it seems to come from somewhere deep inside.
As if his body recalled the days when he was “traveling all these years, just barely getting by,” Hicks slipped back into his pre-fame persona, with bent-over, manic dancing. He was having fun, and so was the crowd.
Hicks put his own distinctive spin on the Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” bringing down the room’s energy before springing back into his lively mood. As he was rocking out to “Heaven Knows,” he turned his back to the crowd and danced, swinging around and asking, “That’s what you came for, right?” to roars of approval from the mostly female crowd.
The drum-driven, pop-inflected song “The Runaround” had Hicks spinning in place every time he sang the chorus, and many fans on their feet. He showed off his deeper range and had some fun with “Big Boss Man,” an Elvis tune, shouting “Soul Patrol” between lyrics.
The show ended after an hour, and a chorus of calls and applause summoned Hicks back to the stage. He appeared alone for the encore, sitting on a tall stool and singing the tender “The Fall,” a song he wrote when he was 19 that alludes to a complicated emotional link — “I climbed the ladder, baby, and you took the fall.”
“Has anybody won any money yet?” he quipped as his band dashed back to their posts for the final tune, Elton John’s rousing, rocking “Take Me to the Pilot.”
Go to the PopStand blog at www.buffalonews.com to to read more of the exclusive interview with Taylor Hicks before Thursday’s show.
REVIEW
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He had me on my feet dancing through the entire show!
I have never followed anyones career before either.
I had about given up on what passes for entertainment on the radio today.
From the first time I heard his Under the Radar CD
Taylor Hicks has single handedly restored my faith in the younger generation and what they can artistly accomplish.
He brings the soulful rhythms back to what is so obviously an aching void in todays music.
Taylor is every bit the consumate performer as he is the gentleman.
It's a pleasure to pass his musicical legacy onto my children too.
They enjoy Taylor as much as I do. an finally we can all agree.
Taylor Hicks 'The Modern Whomp Soulman' is here to stay!
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| Get Taylor Hicks stuff here | |
This trip to Buffalo was worth it !!
Taylor is a unique performer, who has remained true to his roots. His evident joy onstage, giving 110% to his fans, is contagious. It is impossible not to have a good time at his concerts, and to me, impossible not to feel good all over when he smiles that smile. Great Performer! Great, great show worth the 3 hour trip and the money.
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| Surprised to know a lot of you were there, as was I.
The Buffalo News Review was spot on. The entire venue was sold out. Taylor is a unique performer, who has remained true to his roots. His evident joy onstage, giving 110% to his fans, is contagious. It is impossible not to have a good time at his concerts, and to me, impossible not to feel good all over when he smiles that smile. Great Performer!
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I typed this up for my MySpace page so thought I'd post it here too.
Taylor Hicks concert
September 6,2007
Niagra Falls, NY
Seneca Niagra Casino
An amazing night!!!
After a 3 1/2 hour drive we (me, my friends -- Meg, Lisa) arrived at the Casino and parked in the garage. We headed in with all the excitement of knowing Taylor was there in the building somewhere but with no real expecations of meeting him. I had hoped to maybe get a picture with the man but didn't really expect it.
We hooked up with a fan from the TaylorMadeSoul forum named Laurie who goes by TMW. She informed us of where the tour buses were parked and the 4 of us proceeded to go outside and around the building a bit and there they were! There were a few other fans there but not many. We were not even there 2 minutes when Lisa says "Isn't that him?" We all turned to look and sure enough there was Taylor and his friend/assistant Bill walking from the building towards the bus not too far away. Everyone was freaking and Laurie, who this was the first time ever seeing Taylor Hicks in person, almost died. Well, me being the brave soul that I am, shouted out nicely (meaning not loud and obnoxiously) "Taylor Hicks!" He turned to us, waved and smiled. We waved back ofcourse. He looked sexy as hell! Had a cap on but his salt and pepper hair in back is gorgeous! The man is long and lean and absolutley stunning!
After they got on the bus, we all just stood around for an hour or so chatting and watching for him to come out again. Just hoping for another glimpse of that beautiful man. Food was delivered to his bus at one point and the poor girl was knocking and knocking but Taylor wasn't answering. We figured maybe he thought it was a fan out there. But we would not have done that. The poor girl started to head for the other bus and we were yelling to her that he is on that first bus. Then one of Taylor's band members, Brian Gallagher the sax player and major cutie, came towards the buses and stopped to gladly and sweetly talk with us. He is so sweet and adorible! We told him about the poor girl trying to deliver Taylors dinner so he went and got the food from her and went on the bus to give it to Taylor.
About an hour before show time we decided we might as well just head inside but we just knew that as soon as we left, Taylor would be out. Within only moments, he and Bill came out of the bus headed toward the door. But then shifted directions and was headed toward where our small group was standing. Ofcourse we started to get excited but then they smiled at us and entered another door! !!! Teases!!! LOL!
We all headed inside to see where our seats were. They were too far back! All 3 Taylor concerts I'd been to were right up close so this just would not due! Long story short, Lisa talked to an usher and he told us to just grab some seats where ever we wanted and if people had those seats to just move to another seat. Cool! Alot of the high rollers don't use their seats so they would just sit empty anyway.
We went out to the merch table to get a few souvineers and I finally met Stephen the merch guy who I had been corresponding with on line at the TMS forum where he sometimes posts. He's a fun cool guy. We flirted a bit, playfully. Got my pic taken with him. Bought two fridge magnets and a harmonica key ring that says Soul Patrol.
Then me, Meg,and Laure were hanging out by a little table just chatting about trying to sit up close to the stage, when Lisa comes running over excitedly and shows us two Meet & Greet passes that some lady handed to her! I grabbed it and just stared at it reading it in disbelief! But there were only two and Lisa wanted me to have the other. I was in shock to say the least! I had never had a M&G pass at a Taylor or Donny concert. I started shaking. Then it dawned on that Meg and Laurie weren't going to be able to go. My mind was so conflicted. Should I go for it or should I let it go so as not to have Meg upset with me. But then I figured that if it were her who had that pass in her hands, she would want to use it and I would expect her too as a friend. So Lisa and I crossed the room to where the line was and only a group of maybe 3 or 4 went in first. I was shaking so bad and almost crying! For being about to meet with Taylor and feeling bad for Meg.
So quickly our turn came and Lisa and I were let in the door. And there....at the end of a short hallway, stood Taylor F*#@&ing Hicks!!! OMG!!! Still shaking as I approached him and wiping a tear away, Taylor asked (now all conversation is not exactly word for word because everything is a blur as to that), he asked me "What's wrong?" I said "I'm trying not to cry. This was so unexpected." Taylor replied "Don't cry." I looked up and there he is right in front of me!!!! (OMFG, that man is perfect looking! Stunningly handsome.) I still had the pass in my hand and he says "What's this" and took it to look at. I said "Oh it's just the pass." Apparently I never did get that back from him or else it ended up getting dropped.
Anyway, then Lisa asked if he would sign our books we brought (Taylor's bio 'Heart Full Of Soul') and he said he wasn't sure they were alowing autographs as he looked at the photographer waiting. I turned to the photog and said "Aw come on. All he does is this...." and I made a scribbly motion with my hand to indicate how Taylor quickly signs his autograph. (Suppose to be a T and an H but looks like scibble! HA! ) We got the go ahead so I turned back to Taylor (who was on my left) and said "Which page do ya sign?" as I flipped to find the title page and Taylor said "There" or "That one", one or the other. Lisa had dug into her purse and pulled out a sharpie marker which Taylor now had. I watched as he scrbbled his initials in to my book and I asked him "Do you even remember how to write out your full name?" He sort of chuckles and grinned and said something like "Sometimes I wonder that myself!" Then my stupid self did one of those sort of poked two fingers into his shoulder and said "I'm kidding!" I think he chuckled or maybe just grinned.
He signed Lisa's book too at some second that I can't remember, then the photog told us to pose on each side of Taylor. Then my smartass self softly grabs the edge of his t-shirt sleeve, give it a small tug as I say to him "Now, your job is to look all cute." LOL!! He said, looking right in my face and grinning, "I'll try" (or something similar). I put my arm around his back and the photog takes two shots. I think I said thank you to Taylor (I hope I did!) and immediatly we were rushed out so the next person/group could come in.
We were exited right in to the theater and Lisa and I hugged and were shaking and could not believe it!! Then Lisa realized Taylor still had her sharpie! So I went back to the door and the lady couldn't let me back out in that hall but she was very sweet about it and said she'd go get the sharpie. As soon as I got back over to Lisa, all of a sudden Meg was there grabbing on to me excitedly! Turned out right after Lisa and I had gone in to meet with Taylor, the lady handed her and Laurie passes!! So they had just come from meeting him! We hugged and were shaking and completely dazed!!
After discussing our meetings and how lucky we got because it just fell into our laps, we went to grab some seats. We did as the nice usher had told us before and grabbed some in the second row, isle. Just off center stage. Over the next 15 minutes or so people came and we got moved down into the row twice, however, we ended up 2nd row dead center stage!! OMG!! And that is where we stayed for the whole wonderful show!! And being that close to the stage we got tons of Taylor looks and smiles and acknowlegment!! Perfection!!!! Taylor was as energenic and fun and playful as usual. And that man almost never stopped smiling! He has the most beautiful smile in the world when it is a real genuine smile. *sigh*
Being a casino crowd, not may people stood and danced. There were a few little groups of the true Taylor fans (including us most of the time) that would stand and dance and clap and Woooo. Taylor loves that and we wanted to give that to him.
After the concert, we basically sat and rested and gulped fluids. Eventually wandering the casino and letting Lisa play some slots. Laurie informed us at one point that Taylor was not leaving on the bus that night. He was staying at the hotel and would mostly likely go down and play some Black Jack. So naturally as we wandered about we kept an eye open for him. Never did see him but by midnight we were ready to leave and decided to go see the Falls.
Completely physically and emotionally exhausted we spent about 20 minutes at the Falls then hit the highway for home. We were all still dazed and amazed at our luck!! At one point we stopped at Denny's to eat and filled in the sweet young waitress about Taylor Hicks. I hope she does go get his CD.
Got home about 5:00AM and looked at Megs pics from her digital camera on my laptop and perved over them!! Great! Lisa then headed home and Meg and I zonked out for the morning not getting up till after 1:00 in the afternoon.
An absolutle amazingly unreal....surreal....night!! It all feels like a dream now. My pictures came out good (of Tay and Stephen) but ofcourse I look so ICK!!!!! I need photoshop for that damn triple chin and fat neck. UGH!!!
Some thanks here to: Two wonderful ladies from TOSP who, out of the goodness of their hearts, bought me the two tickets that got Meg and I there. If it weren't for their generousity and sweetness, we never would have had this amazing evening. Claire and Sherry....I love you girls forever!! MWAH!! God bless you both. And thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Taylor Hicks....oh boy!!! I love you man. You are something else. You've rocked my world big time! Hugs & kisses.
And thank you God for letting us have this night. I prayed to you for a safe trip and to maybe get a second with Taylor and you answered in ways I soooo did not expect!! I love you.
My partners in crazy perviness, Meg and Lisa....you guys ROCK!!! I'm glad we got to do this together! What a night!!! I love yous two. MWAH! MWAH!
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I missed Taylor's first trip to our part of town.. I was determined not to this time. I asked my boyfriend if he could come with me ( he isn't a Taylor Hicks fan ), and because he loves me, he obliged.
What do you know, an hour of being exposed to his music will get you Taylorized. He couldn't stop talking about him and his music after the show mentioning how Taylor is the consummate musician, composer and performer.
I have been privileged to watch Taylor perform on video, but not live. He never ceases to amaze. Each concert as reported by those who have watched him is different. He is in complete control of his band and his audience, with whom he relates extremely well. We, his devoted fans, will be loyal to him for his entire career. His charismatic personna is just the tip of the iceberg. He tags nearly every song magically. He must be seen live to be appreciated. His talent and humility will take him far.
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| Taylor is ruling the music industry. There is no better musician. | |
| Taylor is so HOT! | |
| Top oncert review. Next stop will be the grammies. | |
| Now I see why Taylor has the best reviews on here. | |
| This show was one fantastic eargasm. Every single melodious number be it his own composition ( e.g. Soul Thing ) or the ones written specifically for him ( the great inspirational -- THE RIGHT PLACE ) or covers ( e.g. Naked In the Jungle ) made the 3 hour trip worthwhile.
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This concert had it all --- Original Compositions, Songs especially composed for Taylor Hicks and great covers of funk, blues and soul...
Taylor Hicks' band was tight and the keyboardist and guitarist were brillant. Add this to his own masterful playing of the harp and you're in concert heaven.
Niagra Falls is ready for the next concert. Come back soon Taylor Hicks. | |
Amazing concert. The best parts of the concert are clearly those that show Taylor Hicks in his "acoustic" and "unplug" mode. They go to the roots of his Southern Soul and Blues artistry and these part makes him shine the most.
I am personally not into his manic style of delivery when he sings such lively songs as THE RUNAROUND ( reminds me of his song and dance routine when he did JAILHOUSE ROCK on Elvis Night at American Idol ).
But when he settles down and performs his songs ( e.g. Soul Thing or the Ray Charles inspired THE RIGHT PLACE ), it is where he shines the best.
All in all, a great great show.
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The thing that made this concert so enjoyable was seeing the spontaneous participation of the crowd. You could clearly see that the fans love Taylor Hicks and he not only enjoys performing but actually loves them back.
You cannot put on a good show without connecting and it is this connection that makes the Niagra concert so special. Add this to the depth and versatility Taylor Hicks shows in his numbers and you have the ingredients for an incredible show.
Taylor Hicks' concerts are definitely a joy to watch. | |
Mods, please delete the posts of the trolls.
To the person going from Taylor Thread to Taylor thread posting lies about the concert, know this --- I LIVE NOT FAR FROM NIAGRA ( Buffalo ) and I was at the concert.
The venue was filled to the brim with only a smattering of empty seats at the back. The venue seats 2,200 max and I estimate the crowd to be about 2,000 and screamingly enthusiastic Soul Patrolers.
BTW, there are trolls in two sites that I visit -- one pretending to be a Taylor fan sowing discord on Clay Aiken's threads and the other, a Taylor hater see the post just above this one.
I would request the Mods to be more vigilant in observing who is a real concert fan and who is here to post just to insult the performer.
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Great, great concert. Yes, the crowd was about 2,000 by my estimate.
What's cool is that Taylor's taken tracks from his album, chilled them off, and made them "his own." "Gonna Move" and "Heaven Knows" are outstanding live. We made "eye contact". He smiled at me and I made some kind of stupid arm pumping motion of approval.
Great show, although it was too short - an hour and a half at most. The whole thing had a real jam-band feel (his band is outstanding, by the way) and he is looser and more fluid than ever. I'm so glad I went (last-minute decision).
I was also impressed by the diversity of the crowd - literally from three-years-old to 90! And, there were a lot of men in the audience, although I suspect most of them were not there of their own volition. I did see one motorcycle-type dude, sitting by himself and really groovin' on the music.
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Oh what a night it was ! Here's a little recap of my Niagra experience. I went with my friend Cheryl
Promptly, at 8 p.m., we started to hear Soul Finger and the excitement began to build. Taylor and the band got a very warm welcome from the audience.
Soul Finger – the audience was screaming Soul Patrol!
Give Me Tonight
Gonna Move
Call Me the Breeze
Just To Feel That Way (one of my favs)
Medicated Goo
Wherever I Lay My Hat (another favourite of mine)
Naked in the Jungle – fantastic drum solo by Felix
The Deal (another favourite and this one was near and dear to my heart)
Soul Thing
Eastbound and Down
Don`t Let Me Down (Hurray – but no red guitar – can`t have it all)
Heaven Knows
The Maze
The Runaround
Big Boss Man (loved the harp!)
A shoutout to the audience – Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol!
Taylor then left the stage and the band followed him. Of course, the audience screamed for more and yelled Taylor, Taylor!
Encore
The Fall (oh yes, so very nice to see that stool come out)
Take Me to the Pilot (more harp – love it!)
I looked at my watch – 9:10 p.m. – over already? Amazing how quickly the time passes when Taylor is moving and grooving on that stage. As the review posted by IdolObserver said, the audience really enjoyed Taylor’s show. Selfishly, I must confess, I had really hoped to witness Taylor’s brilliant tags and also The Long Way Home but that was not to be this night. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the concert very much and was very happy I had the opportunity to attend.
We quickly headed for the buses. The security guard asked the group “How are we going to do this?” I answered – “Organized – line” – my hope was just make it organized so that everyone has a fair chance. They brought over the portable gates and we were all standing there waiting. My assumption is that the majority of the audience had no idea what the “after concert procedure” was as there were probably around 25 or 30 of us there. The ladies promised there would be no pushing, shoving or grabbing.
We were there quite a long time. Then, we got the disappointing news – Taylor would not be coming out to the buses. The barricades were removed. Of course, those who were there knew better from other concerts and waited even though they had told us to leave.
One by one, the band members came out of the door with the exception of Brian G. I thought it was really nice of them to linger and talk with the fans who were still secretly hoping to get an autograph from Taylor. Slowly, the books, the pictures and the CDs were put away and everyone just hung in there for quite a while. After an hour though, my friend Cheryl and I decided we would leave. I am hoping that one of these days, I will secure Taylor’s autograph which is really all that I had wanted for myself.
I read that Taylor was hoping to play some Blackjack in the Casino. I do hope he got “lucky” and won some cash. Perhaps a good win will encourage him to come back this way sometime next year. However, Taylor, you should know that we do have some great Casinos on the Canadian side too!
We found our way to the border and drove along The Falls. It was really dark, ROFL, but the lights were on The Falls and they looked spectacular! I love listening to the roar of the water as it descends.
I am not the best at finding my way easily, especially in the dark. Now, this is when I had truly wished that I had borrowed “Madge” from RagsQueen. We finally found our way to the highway and I was quite relieved to be on the road that was going to take me home – hmmmm, so I thought. Then, we ran into the construction and the highway was closed and we had to take an exit. I guess we missed the detour signs because there we were on unlit back roads – not a Gas Station or Tim Horton’s in sight. Believe me, by this time, I really did need a cup of coffee!
For those of you who know about me, you know that I am so security conscious. There we were going up and down this very dark road and we pulled into a motel that was beside a baseball field. By this time, it is almost 11 p.m. and man, it was creepy and dark. We saw guy walking to his car and slightly lowered the window. We asked him how to get back on the highway and he was surprised the ramp was closed.
We sort of (I am not good at this) followed his directions. Finally, we went back to the ramp that said Toronto and we spotted a van who wanted to get on the ramp and couldn’t. I decided to follow this guy because he seemed to know where he was going. We must have followed him through back roads for 20 minutes and we finally got to the highway. He must have wondered who the heck was following him through the back roads. We noticed that once we were both on the highway, he slowed down and I did end up passing him. Perhaps it was on purpose to see who was in the car that had been chasing him for 20 minutes. I have no idea but whoever he was, I just want to thank him!
I don’t know who sent that van our way but I am thankful that someone did. Finally, we did make it home!
It was an amazing experience for Cheryl and me from start to finish. We were just really happy that we had this chance to see Taylor so close to where we live. When Taylor is on stage, there are no borders. There is just a beautiful shared feeling of experiencing Taylor and the band live on stage and soaking in the wonderful music which will linger in our minds and memories forever.
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