Taylor Hicks rocks a full house on the Sunset Strip!

High above the lights of LA on the Sunset Strip, the magic of Taylor Hicks live on stage rocked the packed Roxy’s Nightclub when the platinum recording artist performed the music from his new CD, The Distance, Wednesday night.

It was Taylor Hicks where he lives—on stage! “The Distance” was a bold opening song. It was a big sound that set the tone for an amped up, “We’re gonna party all night” kind of Taylor Hicks concert! In fact, he asked if we were ready to party all night and jumped into a setlist of the old and the decidedly new.

One of the highlights was “Seven Mile Breakdown,” which raucously rolled through the delta with the hammer down! This will be a concert favorite for a very long time!

“I Live On A Battlefield” was another all out Taylor-and-band fest that said Taylor Hicks can do anything. The band took this one home was a sound that rocked the rafters and must have spilled onto the street! Sunset Strip had been whomped!

“Nineteen” settled the house into a poignant moment. Taylor dedicated it to our soldiers, reminiscent of his dedicating “Do I Make You Proud” to the troops. He said it had been very well received in San Diego [at Belly Up Shadow Tour performance] where there were many servicemen and women in the audience. He introduced it as “a war hero’s story.” And that it is. It grabs your heart. Taylor sings it straight out, unfolding the story recognizing and celebrating the bravery of our American heroes. Taylor lets “Nineteen” speak for itself.

“What’s Right is Right” warms up the stage every time, whether for the “Grease” audience, where he performs it after every show, or in the many media performances of this first single release and first music video. With his hand on his heart at times, he sings with sincerity as if imploring that relationships stand the test of time. You want to believe that this is what love is.

There was the new and the old. Taylor seemed to say, “We are moving on with new music, but let’s remember where we’ve been and hear it one more time.” “Heaven Knows,” “Give Me Tonight,” and “Soul Thing” were some that made the cut for this soul meets country meets rock setlist ending with a new encore, “My Sweet Lord.”

The new, but forever-eclectic setlist:

The Distance
Give Me Tonight
Heaven Knows
The Maze (tags: Inner City Blues/Warm Love/Be young, Be Foolish, Be Happy)
Hide Nor Hair
Nineteen
Gonna Move (tag: Old Weakness)
Woman’s Gotta Have It
I Live On a Battlefield
The Deal
Seven Mile Breakdown (harp)
The Right Place
Once Upon a Lover
What’s Right Is Right
Soul Thing (tags: Mama Said/Eastbound and Down)

Encore: My Sweet Lord

The lively crowd showed their love frequently yelling, “We love you, Taylor,” to which he responded once saying, “It’s one fan at a time.”

I had to think, “Shades of Atlanta!” In 2007, I stood almost center stage second row in Atlanta for the first close up experience of Taylor Hicks on stage. This stage was low and the crowd was against the stage. As he did in Atlanta, Taylor wore his concert shoes—the customary New Balance, for navigating a small stage full of equipment and cords. And, yes, he broke in those shoes with new dance moves to the delight of fans!

Taylor Hicks is seriously into concert frame of mind. It showed at Roxy’s on the stage and in the audience. It was a perfect match of entertainer, music and crowd coming together to celebrate one of the good things in life—sharing music, dreams and time together. This is another milepost on that long train running. It took off again at Roxy’s last week!

Congratulations, Taylor, on a stunning showing on Sunset Strip!

I wouldn’t have missed this one for all the soul music in Memphis!

photo by san~please do not repost without permission.