Country-rock band Emerson Drive sure know how to rock the country.
Their Nov 7 show at Average Joes was eight tickets away from being sold out. It was sold out at first, but one party didn’t make it.
It didn’t matter to the band, who had heaps of beautiful women clustered in front of the stage singing along with an exuberant and hit heavy and exuberant show.
The 
audience knew every word to their big hit ‘Moments’ and sang enthusiastically along with the band.
‘Countrified Soul’ and ‘Good Man’ were a couple of many upbeat hits that kept the feet moving as was ‘Testify,’ one of their gospel tinged rockers. They didn’t have much to do with traditional country music, but definitely are a fine, not to mention extremely tight, band who provided plenty of big guitars and sing-along melodies backed by an unstoppable beat with their bass heavy, ear blistering set.
There weren’t many softer moments in the show as even their many power ballads got an extra shot of octane on stage.
They wound down their set with their latest hit ‘My Kind of Crazy’ and left the crowd crying out for more.
They eventually returned to the stage to add a little bit of country to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Opening act Amber Bauer, who toured as Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’s keyboardist, played a beautiful set of pop and indie folk music, even when her keyboards quit working. She had her guitarist to keep the rhythm though. She improvised and sang a big version of ‘Something to Talk About.’
When she got her power back, she made her organ sing stunningly, reminding me a little of Grace Potter.
She sang plenty of original music including ‘Buy Your Tears,’ the hit she co-wrote with George Canyon
Her massive voice belied her tiny stature as she stood hidden behind a keyboard and an organ.
