Friday, April 15th, brought Frankie Ballard back to the House of Blues. Ballard has performed at the HOB before, but this was the first time he was the main act. Opening for Ballard was NEON artist, Alec MacGillivray.
MacGillivray and his band were energetic and enthusiastic preparing the crowd for Ballard with a nine-song set list. He opened with an original song, ‘Can’t Help Myself,’ followed by another original, ‘Lonely.’ MacGillivray’s third song was the Lynyrd Skynyrd hit ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ bumping up the energy in the house three- fold. Other songs in MacGillivray’s set were, ‘Sixteen,’ ‘Tom Petty,’ ‘Mascara Stains,’ and ‘Wild and Crazy,’ all his own songs. He also performed the Johnny Cash favorite, ‘Folsom Prison Blues.’ MacGillivray left the stage thanking everyone for being such a great audience and listening to his authentic songs.
Frankie Ballard entered the stage to a roaring crowd. He opened his thirteen-plus song set list with his number one single, ‘Young and Crazy.’ That’s all it took to set the momentum of his show into high gear. He followed up with, ‘Drinky Drink,’ and then ‘Cigarette,’ a track on his much anticipated third album, ‘El Rio’, which will be released next month on June 10th.
Before breaking into his next song Ballard addressed the woman in the crowd. “Where are the Boston girls at tonight? Do any Boston girls drink whisky by chance?” The ear splitting screams from the female fans made it very difficult to hear Ballard sing the first lines of the song. He goes on to sing his next tune, ‘Tell Me You Get Lonely,’ with this comment, “We don’t do well with breaking up, admit it boys, and all the things you hear this guy telling this girl, you stay up all night thinking about me, the truth is that’s how HE really feels.”
After singing ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ Ballard’s favorite Johnny Cash song, he performed his latest tune currently on country radio, ‘It All Started with a Beer.’ He next performed ‘I’m Thinking Country,’ from his 2014 album ‘Sunshine and Whiskey.’ Ballard often began or ended his songs with an extended guitar solo, showing us his amazing guitar playing skills. One song in particular that portrayed his remarkable talent was Keith Urban’s, ‘Love Somebody.’
Before singing his first number one hit, ‘Helluva Life,’ Ballard stopped to take pictures with his fans. Turning his back to the crowd, he held up an audience members phone to take a picture of himself and the 400 shouting fans behind him. Allowing the crowd to sing the chorus, he held out the microphone as every voice in the HOB sang the lyrics,“Pennies make dimes and dimes make dollars, dollars buy gas and longneck bottles, beer gets a barefoot country girl swaying, to a song that’s playing, it’s a perfect combination… Yeah, it’s a helluva life.”
Ballard continued the interaction with the audience throughout his performance, jumping down off the stage, walking through the crowd and even referencing his Twitter feed. “I’ve been on social media and someone on social media has been hounding me. Anything I would post regarding this show here at the HOB Boston, they would comment, play ‘Tip Jar’ play ‘Tip Jar.’ We haven’t been playing this song on tour, so I’m playing this special for you. You wore me out.”
Other songs Ballard performed were, ‘LA Woman,’ another song from his soon to be released, ‘El Rio’ and ‘Who Do You love?’ the Bo Diddley song from 1956. He ended the night with his “favorite gospel song,” ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,’ then left the stage with a wave and a shout, “I love you guys!”
Frankie Ballard played his heart out for his fans at the House of Blues with great music and astounding guitar solos. His energy and talent kept them entertained and on their feet throughout the entire 90 minute show.
‘El Rio’ is available for pre-order on iTunes, Google Play and through Ballard’s official online store.
You can follow Frankie Ballard on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and his website website.
Concert recap by Lorraine Frigoletto contributing writer for New England Country Music. You can follow me on twitter Twitter.
