QUOTE
Daughtry gives healthy, vibrant performance
Unlike April show when he was ill, singer more outgoing, stronger
COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer
It was apparent that Chris Daughtry was feeling much better than he was in April when he last played Charlotte following a show in Florida that he'd cancelled due to illness.
"I'm not sick this time, so it's all good," he said a few songs into his sold-out show at Ovens Auditorium Saturday. He was physically and vocally stronger and more outgoing than at the spring show, which made the entire performance better.
Fans waited patiently through two opening acts -- You Are I Am, who played mellow Toad the Wet Sprocket-meets-Live style pop rock and Canadian emo-meets-AM pop rockers the Midway State.
Daughtry took the stage at 9:50 p.m., beginning his set with "Crashed," "What I Want" and "Used To" (all from 2007's top selling album, "Daughtry").
Then he introduced one of the biggest hits of 2007 -- "It's Not Over" -- by saying, "If you're not sick of hearing it, I'd like to hear you sing it."
Next, the crowd lit up as he and his four-piece band launched into a short version of Guns n' Roses' "Paradise City," one of a handful of familiar covers he used to diversify the set list.
After performing a new acoustic song called "Back to Me," the recent Grammy nominee sang John Lennon's "Imagine." And to the delight of "American Idol" viewers, he spliced "What About Now" with the version of Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" that he performed during his run on the Fox reality competition.
He saved the heavier rockers -- "Feels Like Tonight" and the huge crowd sing-along "Over You" -- for late in the evening.
Re-emerging for the encore, Daughtry handed the microphone to his guitar player Josh Steely and sang backup and played guitar during a quick lounge-reggae verse and chorus of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." A snippet of Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" led into Daughtry's other inescapable hit, "Home."
For his final flourish, he turned up the volume and energy with the borderline metal anthem "There and Back Again."
The singer was in top form, and the result was more quantity and better quality this time around. IN MY OPINION Courtney
Devores Courtney
Devores
Unlike April show when he was ill, singer more outgoing, stronger
COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer
It was apparent that Chris Daughtry was feeling much better than he was in April when he last played Charlotte following a show in Florida that he'd cancelled due to illness.
"I'm not sick this time, so it's all good," he said a few songs into his sold-out show at Ovens Auditorium Saturday. He was physically and vocally stronger and more outgoing than at the spring show, which made the entire performance better.
Fans waited patiently through two opening acts -- You Are I Am, who played mellow Toad the Wet Sprocket-meets-Live style pop rock and Canadian emo-meets-AM pop rockers the Midway State.
Daughtry took the stage at 9:50 p.m., beginning his set with "Crashed," "What I Want" and "Used To" (all from 2007's top selling album, "Daughtry").
Then he introduced one of the biggest hits of 2007 -- "It's Not Over" -- by saying, "If you're not sick of hearing it, I'd like to hear you sing it."
Next, the crowd lit up as he and his four-piece band launched into a short version of Guns n' Roses' "Paradise City," one of a handful of familiar covers he used to diversify the set list.
After performing a new acoustic song called "Back to Me," the recent Grammy nominee sang John Lennon's "Imagine." And to the delight of "American Idol" viewers, he spliced "What About Now" with the version of Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line" that he performed during his run on the Fox reality competition.
He saved the heavier rockers -- "Feels Like Tonight" and the huge crowd sing-along "Over You" -- for late in the evening.
Re-emerging for the encore, Daughtry handed the microphone to his guitar player Josh Steely and sang backup and played guitar during a quick lounge-reggae verse and chorus of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train." A snippet of Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" led into Daughtry's other inescapable hit, "Home."
For his final flourish, he turned up the volume and energy with the borderline metal anthem "There and Back Again."
The singer was in top form, and the result was more quantity and better quality this time around. IN MY OPINION Courtney
Devores Courtney
Devores