CNY Country: Eric Church brings his high-energy Blood, Sweat and Beers tour to Canandaigua

Aug 19, 2012

Eric Church brings his high-energy Blood, Sweat and Beers tour to Canandaigua

View the story "Eric Church brings his high-energy Blood, Sweat and Beers tour to Canandaigua" on StorifyEric Church brings his high-energy Blood, Sweat and Beers tour to CanandaiguaCountry music superstar played his hits and other fan favorites for fans at CMAC Saturday night.Storified by CNY Country · Sun, Aug 19 2012 18:57:44Eric Church's career has really taken off over the past year or so, to the point that the sometimes controversial singer has become almost unavoidable. Whether it's hearing "Springsteen" on the radio or reading about his feud with two of country's biggest stars, every day feels like Sunday with our daily exposure to Church. While I was lacking faith the last time I wrote about Eric, I was still looking forward to joining thousands of members of the choir to hear him preach to the masses at CMAC Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua Saturday night. After the show I certainly wasn't disappointed, and I don't think too many others there were either.
Robert Earl Keen opening for Eric Church at #CMAC Saturday night. http://pic.twitter.com/nvIVr4coCNY CountryRobert Earl Keen was the lone opening act for Eric on Saturday. I don't dislike Robert Earl Keen, but I wouldn't call myself a fan either, he's just kind of there, and I felt the same way about his performance. I liked the melody and noticed several feet in my row tapping along to many of his songs, but his lyrics were almost impossible to understand. Part of that may be my fault because I wasn't familiar with the songs going in. He did play two songs I knew from other artists covering them, and honestly I think I liked the covers better. REK wasn't horrible, but he's so different from Eric Church that it was kind of an odd choice to open.

After a 45-minute set the opener left the stage and fans on the right side of the stage saw a cart carrying the "Chief" himself into the VIP tent for an exclusive preshow during the set change. After a few minutes the cart whisked Eric away again and the crowd awaited his appearance on stage.
.@EricChurch opened his CMAC show with "Country Music Jesus." And fire. Lots of fire. http://pic.twitter.com/4v4Nlh5UCNY CountryAfter a 45-minute wait the CMAC lights went down and the opening beats of "Country Music Jesus" were met with screams and cheers throughout the venue. Church sang of "fire on the mountains" with actual flames shooting up behind him and I knew at that moment we were in for a treat.
"Guys Like Me" by @Eric_Church at #CMAC Saturday night. http://pic.twitter.com/wFaxkdraCNY CountryEric played all of his hits throughout the show, and some fan favorites like "Sinners Like Me" and "Lotta Boot Left To Fill." He also performed most of the songs off his latest album "Chief," with "Like Jesus Does" being the only one omitted.
.@Eric_Church lets out a scream during "How 'Bout You" at #CMAC Saturday night. http://pic.twitter.com/Ih6IzLwnCNY CountryEric's shows have been billed as "high-energy" for years, and his Blood, Sweat and Beers performances are no exception. He was definitely energetic at Chevy Court a few years ago, but he seemed to lack something in his stage presence. It may have been the fact that it was a 2 p.m. show, a small crowd or maybe the broken foot had something to do with it, but Eric certainly found whatever he was missing. He raced around the stage, let loose several screams, stomped his feet, pumped his fist and climbed all over the set Saturday night, with the crowd loving every minute of it.
.@Eric_Church puts a "Drink In My Hand" at #CMAC Saturday. http://pic.twitter.com/owrz7xpFCNY CountryAfter putting drinks in our hands, reliving battles with Jack Daniels, admonishing hip-hop hats and pants on the ground and wishing "Uncle Sam would give a damn about the man who's collar's blue," Eric left the stage without giving the fans his two biggest hits.
.@Eric_Church in a cloud of more than a little smoke during "Smoke A Little Smoke" at #CMAC Saturday night. http://pic.twitter.com/NHRlgzucCNY CountryEric came back out and opened his encore with "Smoke A Little Smoke," filling the stage with more than just a little smoke. He then performed fan-favorite "These Boots" off his debut album, leading to one of the coolest moments of the evening.
.@Eric_Church signs a boot for a lucky fan in the second row at #CMAC Saturday night. http://pic.twitter.com/uxSgnSH3CNY CountryA fan in the second row brought a sign of a checklist of shows they had attended with an empty box at the bottom reading "Eric Church's Signed boots." Eric took the sign and the fan's boot, signed it and checked off the last item on the list.
.@Eric_Church closing out his #CMAC show with "Springsteen." http://pic.twitter.com/K2nDPsRvCNY CountryChief closed his show with his summer 2012 anthem "Springsteen," and what an incredible way to close the show. I'd guess that it's been Eric's most popular hit, and he asked everyone to turn on their cell phone flashlights, recreating the "stars in the sky" in the CMAC seats. He led the crowd in a singalong of the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh's," told the crowd the song was written for nights like Saturday and said it was all about the catchy lyric "funny how a melody sounds like a memory."

Surely the melodies from an August Saturday night created many happy memories for members of the Church Choir in attendance.

Labels: Eric Church, Robert Earl Keen

CNY Country

Aug 19, 2012

Eric Church brings his high-energy Blood, Sweat and Beers tour to Canandaigua

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