When the curtain dropped from the rigging to reveal Johnny Reid in mid-song and full stride, the crowd went wild, joining in on the Hey O lyrics like they wrote it themselves.
With his movie-star smile gleaming on his tanned face, clad in an electric white jacket, classic black T and skinny red pants, Reid looks pretty slick but his heart is still in it for the hard-working people he said he knows are in the audience.
The last two times Reid's been at the CN Centre for a sell-out concert, he ended the show by high five-ing, hugging and smooching his way through the audience. This time he started the show by cruising most of the floor and then climbing into the bleachers to reach the little girl being held in her daddy's arms. Because she was waving with so much enthusiasm, he said he couldn't resist going to visit with her and he apologized for taking so long.
Reid's show is about how he connects with people and their reaction to him.
Not to mention the fact that the man never dropped even one note through the hullabaloo of the bear hugs, the kisses, the fist bumps and the scaling of the bleachers as sweat dripped from his face, into his eyes.
And the stage and effects were incredible. Big screens were behind the 14-piece band, including an amazing brass section. There were fireworks and flames shot in the air during Reid's signature song Fire It Up that looked like the turbo thrusters used during a rocket launch.
He took it down a flashy notch but amped up the emotion meter with his heart wrenching set that saw Reid on a stage behind all the floor seats with a Disco ball lit above him as he sang Dance With Me.
Just to change it up a bit Reid had the duet The Stellas perform and opening the show was Carolyn Dawn Johnson, whose performance was very sweet. Just her and a guitar player standing on stage, leaving the flashy, high octane performance to Reid.
Today I'm Gonna Try and Change the World, A Woman Like You, Darlin', Right Where I Belong and Right Out Of The Blue, were just some of the songs sung by one of the most awarded country artists in Canada.
Reid promised he'd be back in Prince George again and the audience promised to show up to sell it out again.
