Brayden King kicked off his Bad Night to Be A Beer tour at the Slice, Tuesday,May 16 for a decent sized and enthusiastic audience in the mood to part to some rocking country music on a school night.
I arrived as Beamer Wigley was doing his best Keith Urban impression.
The B.C based Wigley shared his band, guitarist Roman Kozlowski, drummer Cody Mack and bassist Cam Dougall with the Weyburn, Saskatchewan born, Lethbridge based country musician, Brayden King.
Wigley was playing his own leads like Keith Urban and even covered Urban’s “ Somebody Like You” to wind down his set.
Brayden King, though he has several singles out including one he used to audition for American Idol, was also in a cover playing mood and a playing to the crowd mood.
He started off with some Chris Stapleton and worked a good sized Tuesday night audience like a pro, getting most of them up to the stage. He and lead guitarist Roman Koslowski jumped in the middle of them and dances, with Koslowski climbing on top one of the tables for a solo.
He reminded me of a young Trevor Panczak, strumming his electric then switching to acoustic for an assortment of originals and covers.
He mentioned he auditioned or American idol with his song “Down The Road,” and played it. His originals had a pleasant accessible sound that would be right at home on modern country radio.
They slowed down a little for some waltz time in “ Tequila and Me,” then picked up the tempo for the next single, “ Nicotine.”
He talked abut his mother Alana, who recently passed away and dedicated “Cover of the Rolling Stone” to her.
“Living the Dream,”the latest single was a highlight.” He wound up his energetic set with a n eclectic mix of covers including “ Takin Care of business,” for which he got the crowd to sing along.
They played a solid cover of Carrie Underwoods’ “ Before He Cheats” and took a left turn into some 2000s rock with “ the Killers’ “Mr Brightside.”
The band detuned for a cover of “Save a Horse Ride A Cowboy.” And King tried to rap like Eminem.
They wound up a sweaty and energetic set with a cover of AC DC’s “ Highway to Hell” before ending with the tour’s namesake “ Bad Night to be A Beer.”
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
