Clint Black entertains with country classics

Eagle Mountain Casino hosted one of country music’s luminaries Thursday night, with the arrival of singer and songwriter Clint Black.

Guests poured into the spacious venue and filled row after row of folding chairs as well as multiple sets of bleachers as they waited expectantly for Black to make his entrance.

“It’s great that we can get big names like Clint Black to come play here,” public relations coordinator Jim Valencia said.

The stage featured a raised piano and drum set, with ample room for Black’s group of talented musicians. When they quietly strolled up the short staircase on the left side of the stage, many guests — talking animatedly with friends and family — did not even notice their arrival until cheers arose from observant crowd members.

Somphane Hunter, a Poplar resident, doesn’t attend many concerts at Eagle Mountain Casino, but went to Black’s performance as a special date with her husband.

“I think it was an entertaining concert, both with his music and the stories he told,” Hunter said. “All in all, I thought it was pretty good and that Black got the audience involved by engaging the crowd.”

Black, who played a variety of guitars throughout the night, launched into his very first tune, “The Shoes You’re Wearing” immediately when he reached the stage. Audience members nodded along happily, seemingly agreeing with the song’s main tenet that “the shoes don’t make the man.”

Looking dashing in a Stetson hat, button-down shirt and obligatory cowboy blue jeans, Black charmed the audience by tossing guitar picks high in the air after almost every song for the crowd to keep as souvenirs.

Five guitarists, one piano player and one drummer accompanied Black. One of the musicians quickly switched instruments for the second song and began fiddling furiously to achieve that special Western twang.

Jack Brassfield enjoyed Black’s versatility with multiple instruments as well as his humble demeanor. “I was very impressed with Clint’s musical abilities, especially since he played different guitars and the harmonica,” Brassfield said. “He’s not a show-off, just a good performer,” he said.

Brassfield, who attended with his brother, had never been up to a concert at the Eagle Mountain Casino prior to the  Black show. “I was impressed by how the casino handled the show,” he said.

He agreed with Hunter that part of Black’s draw is his easy repartee with the audience. “He kept the crowd laughing and entertained; he was a good a performer,” Brassfield said.

The rest of Black’s band also interacted with the audience throughout the show. When Black strummed the first few notes to his well-known hit “Killin’ Time", the piano player, seated high in the back of the stage overlooking the rest of his fellow performers, began clapping his hands overhead to encourage the crowd to clap along.

Black smiled in delight as he witnessed audience members belting out his career-launching 1989 single along with him.

As Black continued to entertain with a mix of his hits and his lesser-known songs, it was clear that the audience, which remained quiet and respectful, reflected the range of the people that he has touched with his music over the years.

From young girls running energetically through the isles, to older couples humming along with their favorites, Black had something for everything.

Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000 x1050, or at sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.