| Without any introduction or chatter of any kind, Gainesville's Chris McCarty and
band swooped onto the stage and started playing. That's one way to let your
music and performance do the talking and the crowd couldn't help but pay
attention. The music was undeniably rock, at times with an underlying jazz vibe,
and chock full of adrenaline-packed jams by the four piece. Led by McCarty, the
band's high-energy show was a sight to behold and on one song McCarty jammed so
hard his hair flew out of its bindings and he broke a guitar string. He did
engage the audience, telling the stories behind some of the songs and that "The
Next One" is included on the Sims 2 video game.
The energy level continued to rise as Orlando's Dagnese took the stage.
Brothers Chris (vocals, guitar) and Craig (bass) D'Agnese were joined by Mike
Guzzardo (guitar), Elo Esteves (drums) and Jason Dezamba (piano). Their hooky
pop-rock is a favorite of the hometown crowd, demonstrated by the audience
singing along to every song.
Next up was Georgia's Gary Ray and the Heartwells, celebrating their CD
release. The country-rock band opened their set with "Mississippi Streets," a
song that showcases Ray's distinctive, deep vocals and fondness for using
different items for a slide, in this case a half-pint bottle. Their almost
two-hour set included many songs from their new CD, Livin' the Dream, as well as
a cover of the Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried." They were later joined onstage
by Dan and Matt Verduin from Orlando band Big 10-4 for their song "Things Will
Get Better," with Big 10-4's song "Let Me Know" making an appearane in the
middle of it.
www.myspace.com/chrismccartymusic
www.dagnese.net
garyraymusic.com
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