Dallas Smith made famous tracks out of Dawson Creek on his way to Prince George for a Wednesday night concert. Some of the fans there interrupted the show with fights and sexual harassment he had to intervene on from the stage.
P.G. stood on moral ground no higher than D.C. Smith had barely gotten the first song finished when he had to use his microphone to direct security guards into a front row fray to eject an unruly fan. Another somehow rushed onto the stage and made a jackass of himself later on in the night.
Nice.
What a ruin for the other thousand-plus plus people who brought excellent energy and solid support for the night of quality country rock.
Thank goodness five bras got thrown on the stage over the course of Smith's set to add some levity to those dark spots on the city's behaviour. Smith hung the undergarments comically on the neck of bandmate Travis Switzer's bass.
The rest of the event was a chunky bowl of winter stew. A couple of cold beers and a few blazing country acts made a terrific recipe for a snowy night. Smith's hits are too plentiful to leave your ears feeling lonely, and he is only a few miles off the rock course he used to be on with the band of his early youth, Default.
To remind us of that, he actually performed a country version of that band's biggest hit, Wastin' My Time. I've seen Smith perform a number of times in the past and always wanted to hear him revive that crunchy tune. I finally got my wish.
There were no lulls in the Smith set list. He's reached that coveted point in his career where he has more popular songs than one concert's got room for, so beyond the obvious Cheap Seats, Tippin' Point and Autograph inclusions that just gotta happen or things ain't right with the fans, he has many options and most of them are high-octane (Kids In Cars, Wastin' Gas, Jumped Right In, etc.).
What's scary about Smith's momentum is, I don't think we've seen him at his country best yet. These songs are all familiar radio friends, but he hasn't achieved that next level, that song that you can't hold back from singing yourself. But every album, he has shown improvement and stronger song foundations. I'd lay money on seeing him back in PG in the next few years flying in a hit storm of singles that have that singalong quality. Think Summer Of 69, Sharp Dressed Man, Any Man Of Mine, Fishin' In The Dark, Friends In Low Places. He's already proven his technically proficient voice. Now, he needs a few songs where my shower/car voice just can't help but join in.
Gotta give some props to his opening acts as well. Michael Ray gave a clean, clear show that really ramped up with a cover of party favourite Dust On The Bottle, then he got bluesy for a gritty highlight number, then closed with current hit Think A Little Less. It was a highlight hat-trick that even overpowered his signature tune Kiss You In The Morning.
I doubt anyone will forget Lauren Alaina's time in P.G., either. She was the first act of the night, with a voice that showed her American Idol pedigree. She also had all the charm of a wild rose. Of the three, she was best at taking the Road Less Traveled, talking with the audience and letting us in on her personality, and she waved that personality around like the air-gun she used to blast T-shirts in the crowd during Smith's set. She had her own fun and that made it fun for the rest of us.
If there was an A-1 highlight moment, a prime takeaway from the night's overall impressions, it was Jer Breaks. When our hometown Prince George boy pulled up alongside Smith (he's one of the guitar players in Smith's band) and pulled off that jean jacket, he was wearing his heart on his sleeves - the black and red sleeves of the Cougars, complete with "Breaks 17" emblazoned on the back. Our boy has been a formidable music force for a long, long time. It was nice to see Smith take notice and let him come home once in awhile to prowl the big stage.
