Little Texas, Lonestar Rock Sugar Creek Event Center [VIDEO]
If you came to Sugar Creek Casino's Event Center in Hinton Saturday night expecting to see a love fest between to 90's country power house groups and their long loyal fans, well you got what you came for.
And if you came to see these two groups playing all of their hits, hoping they haven't lost the magic that made them two of the most popular groups of that era, well you weren't disappointed there either.
And if you came to see those two groups take a near packed house to it highest highs, only to grab them by their heartstrings with some of the greatest country ballads of all time, well you did leave the show wanting.
From the moment Del Gray, Porter Howell, Dwayne O'Brien and Duane Propes took the stage, Little Texas proved they were at the Sugar Creek Casino to remind every one in attendance exactly who they were. From the very first chord, the crowd was on fire, swaying, singing and dancing with every song. Lead singer Porter Howell was all over the stage and down in the audience throughout the stage, while the remainder of the band commanded the stage and drove the music through every high and low.
Kicking off the night with the 1994 top-5 hit "Kick A Little", making stops all along the decade long run of success in the nineties, including stories telling the Little Texas saga. Including hits, band favorites and even material from their 2015 comeback album Young For A Long Time that took the audience on a 25 year journey that concluded with Howell telling the story of how, after a show in Oklahoma City while opening for Clint Black, that he and Gray wrote the group's first #1 hit, "What Might Have Been" sitting on their tour bus. The quartet then launched into their finale, with a version of the song that left the audience breathless.
After Little Texas left the stage and took over the Event Center lobby, greeting fans, taking pictures and singing anything that wasn't tied down, it was time for the main event of the evening. And while Lonestar may have started their set a little slow, which was easily understood considering lead singer Richie McDowell was having problems with both his ear piece and wireless guitar hook-up, by the time they were finished, the fans were screaming for more.
McDonald, Dean Sams, Keach Rainwater and Michael Britt played all of their hits, from their first single and #1 hit "No News" through their most recent top-10 hit, 2006's "Mountains", also including their brand new single "Never Enders" and a tribute to Glenn Frey with a pair of Eagles tunes, "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful, Easy Feeling". And after an incredible 90 minutes where the group played all they could play (except for one song), they came back out to a roaring ovation to perform a version of "Amazed' that was, well, simply amazing.
And just when you thought they had nothing left to give, Lonestar broke into a rocking tribute to another little old band from Texas, ZZ Top, with an unbeatable cover of "Sharp Dressed Man". But don't leave yet, the boys were far from finished. The encore continued with a version of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" that David Gilmore would be proud of, following-up by covering Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" and wrapping up the evening with a raucous rendition of Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Nite" that sent the crowd home drained and satisfied.
And there wasn't a non-smiling face in the sell-out crowd as the exited into the Hinton evening. From the look of the show Saturday night's, the two bands are headed out on a successful tour, and maybe, just maybe a new beginning for both legendary bands from Texas.