Emerson Drive were in the mood to party with a sedate Sunday night crowd at Average Joes, Sept. 24.
I caught the end of a solo acoustic set of country music from Mark Maxwell who encouraged some of the people to get out of their seats and go to the front of the stage to toast the Lethbridge music community.
After a short break, Emerson Drive kept most of them on their feet in a toe tapping, hit heavy set.
I thought they were going to start with the Who’s “Baba O’ Riley” but it ended up being their 2009 hit “I Love this Road,” which actually has the same three chords and which set the tone for the night.
They played a pleasant mix of ballads and more upbeat country rockers like Countrified Soul,” which showed off the talents of their guitarists. Frontman Brad Mates grinned and paced all over the stage, delivering heartfelt vocals throughout.
“My Kind of Crazy” was a highlight of the set, midway through the show.
Things got pretty real midway through the set as Mates dedicated Emerson Drive‘s big hit “Moments” to their former bassist, Patrick Bourque who they lost to suicide almost 10 years ago to the day on Sept. 25, 2007 just as the band was getting big with their album “Countrified.”
They picked up the tempo with the R and B influenced, Tebey penned new single “Just Got Paid,” after that .
They kept the energy up with “She Always Gets what She Wants,” “I Should be Sleeping” and “A Good Man,” then really showed their musical chops on “Testify” to wind up their show.
