As The Poverty Plainsmen, this years Canadian Country Music Award’s Independent Group of the Year, took the stage, the Party Crowd was already more then Loco. What followed was a night that started out with a very modern, upbeat country feel, and by the time the main act was done, this critic was wondering if the band was confused whether they were a rock group or a classic country group.

     The Poverty Plainsmen being the opening act had the privilege of warming the audience up. A task they were more then up to. Playing a few tunes from their new CD Lap of Luxury, a few of their older songs, and paying tribute to Keith Urban, Uncle Kracker, The Eagles, and Big and Rich, the Poverty Plainsmen had the vast majority of the audience up on the floor and dancing away for the better part of a hour and a half with a steady mix of upbeat country. Their charisma and energy was quite impressive as they showed how they have managed to stay together for almost twenty years now. After being given a short intermission, the “main act”, David Lee Murphy, took the stage and to my surprise as well as some of the audience around me, gave what was viewed as a less the satisfactory performance.

     For approximately an hour and a half, David Lee and his band played through many of his classic tunes, however many were accompanied by an overpowered, 8 minute guitar solo, that quickly got old and seamed to belong more in a BTO, Stones or Zepplin song then the classic country tunes that they were playing.

     Accompanied by errors in their balances, making it painful to listen to the solos, even from the stands, as well as uncountable feedback issues, the part of the show many had been looking forward too, quickly lost its appeal. All was not lost however, as showmanship, energy, and charisma saved the night for David Lee, with the crowd dancing and singing along until the end of the demanded encore. In the end, the concert balanced itself out, with The Poverty Plainsmen making up for where David Lee Murphy lacked in proper sound checks and audio/technical expertise.

     While I might not recommend a David Lee Murphy concert any time soon, I would highly recommend checking out the Poverty Plainsmen at your next possible convenience.