This past Friday Easton Corbin and his awesome six piece band took their high energy and highly entertaining show to the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun. The show was packed, especially with local fans who had a longer than usual wait between a big weekend country show at that venue.
Corbin and his band kicked things off with ‘Wild Women & Whiskey,’ a good ole fashion country song. Corbin reminded me of Jon Pardi in how his music has more of a traditional feel to it compared to some of the other artists out there today. Corbin recently chatted with NECM and told us that he is proud of his traditional sound and that playing with that sound is “what I love to do, and it’s my goal to stick to that.” You can check out Easton’s entire interview here.
Up next was his 2012 hit ‘Lovin’ You is Fun’ which really brought the crowd energy up to a high level where it stayed all night.
Corbin intro’d the next song explaining that he got a special request from a former tourmate to play this song when he got to play the Wolf Den. That tourmate was Blake Shelton and Corbin did not disappoint with his version of ‘All About Tonight.’ He followed this up with ‘Clockwork’ which the crowd was really into not just singing along but moving along in ways that showed they were feeling the emotion of the song.
‘The Way Love Looks’ was written by Corbin and you could tell by his performance he was really proud of it. The song was never released to radio, but was on his 2010 self-titled album. I’ll admit this show was my first time hearing it, but it’s really worth a listen. The show then slowed down for the ballad ‘I Can’t Love You Back.’
Easton is an awesome entertainer. He was talking about how when he was first trying to make it as an artist he would often get compared to a particular artist. It was clear he was setting up a cover song. However, instead of playing the song he was looking for his band went into some AC/DC. After being scolded, the band tried again, this time with some Bruno Mars. While I’m sure the band does this every night, it was very natural and a memorable moment from the show. Eventually Corbin was able to get to what he was looking for singing a bit George Strait’s ‘Check Yes or No’ and I’ll be damned if he didn’t sound just like The King.
Sticking with the theme of early in his career Corbin then played his first single ‘A Little More Country Than That.’
After ‘That’ll Make You Wanna Drink’ and an awesome cover of Easton’s hero, Merle Haggard’s, ‘I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink’ which showed off his awesome band they went into a bit of Alan Jackson’s ‘Where I Come From.’ During this Corbin introduced each member of the band and where they were from. The members then got to play a bit of a song representing where they are from. Most musicians in bands are lucky if the artist briefly introduces them but Corbin gave each member of the band their moment in the spotlight. It was interesting to see that the steel guitar player was from England, not exactly where you would expect. The bassist did a spot on rap to the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air to rep for his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Blue grass music was a big influence on Corbin growing up and for the next few songs, he did bluegrass versions of some of his songs. ‘A Thing for You’ (another song Corbin wrote) was my favorite song in his whole set. NECM fan @DAdamek88 said on Twitter that he really enjoyed ‘Are You With Me’ calling it a “Spiritual Experience” to see live. Several fans called the fiddle and banjo on ‘Leavin’ a Lonely Town’ their favorite part of the show.
‘It’s About to Get Real’ will be Corbin’s third album and when it comes out later this year. His current single ‘Baby Be My Love Song’ is his second single off the album (after ‘Clockwork’). No release date has been announced but keep your eyes out for an announcement, if these two songs are any indication, this won’t be one you want to miss.
‘Roll With It’ was Corbin’s last original song of his set, which he closed out with Brooks and Dunn’s ‘Brand New Man’ and Alabama’s ‘Fiddle in the Band.’ The crowd continued to grow throughout the show and by the end, people were singing along all the way back on the casino floor.
After going off stage briefly the band came back out for an encore. After an awesome steel guitar intro, Corbin swooned the crowd with an awesome version of George Strait’s ‘It Just Comes Natural.’
The band closed out the night with Corbin’s 2013 hit ‘All Over the Road.’ Corbin hung out on stage for awhile signing autographs and taking pictures. Corbin and his band took his songs we all know from his albums and the radio and tweaked them just enough to give an awesome show that’s just enough what you want and expect, but new and exciting at the same time.
Corbin doesn’t have any currently announced shows in the New England though he will be Atlantic City on Valentine’s Day if you are eyeing a romantic getaway that weekend.
Be sure to follow Easton on Twitter, Facebook and on his website.
