Whomp in the desert...

Taylor Hicks can finally put away Chicago’s sweaters and Ohio’s wool scarves. He can pull out the t-shirts and baseball caps again. Well….maybe…

Whomp visits the Southwest as Taylor Hicks dons his Teen Angel wings again and rejoins the cast of Grease in Tucson, Arizona, February 24 through March 1. Sunshine is always expected in the desert, and it promises to welcome the Grease troupe as they travel west for the first time on this national tour.

Taylor’s upcoming return to Arizona brought back pleasant memories of his first visit in 2007 when he appeared at The Marquee in Tempe. It was a small venue compared to others on that concert tour. The performance was not small. It was one of the best on the tour, and I saw a few of them.

From Relix Magazine: “At the Marquee, he affirmed that the stage is where he excels, offering a soulful charisma, rich voice and imaginative setlists littered with multi-genre selections.

“Perhaps what made Hicks a contest champion became evident by show’s end as the band eased into Elton John’s “Take Me to the Pilot” without a hint of misplaced showmanship. The man appears determined to deliver the entertainment goods his way and if that means that he earns his crown via the road one gig at a time then it is certainly a setting he embraces without qualification.” (Relix: The Magazine for Music, by Randy Ray, 5.25.07)

In Tempe, Taylor opened with Runaround and never looked back. He romped around the stage with his usual abandon… walking to the very edge and once, turning around and encountering a stage light, jumped over it without missing a note! From “Runaround” to a soulful exit all alone playing “Long Way Home” on his harmonica, it was one of the most memorable performances in a long list of unforgettable concerts. The smaller crowd never deterred him from giving it his all. It was another “I never phone it in” performance!

This was just the kind of performance we have come to expect from Taylor Hicks….every venue, every night, every song. You know what to expect…only the very best from this Alabama son who keeps raising the bar with new music, new experiences and new horizons for himself and his fans.

Welcome back to the West, Taylor!
Now, if you know the desert or Tony Hillerman novels, you know that the weather can change like the tags in a Taylor Hicks song…in a moment. Better pack a couple of those sweaters!

Just looking over the sweaters... I’m going along on this one!