I usually shoot photos for my friend Connie Rae when she opens for folks at the Coach House. I've been doing that since we became friends a few years ago. What a great gig. I get to shoot some photos and see the show. When she told me she was opening for Michael Grimm I had no idea who he was. Then she told me he was the 2010 Winner of America's Got Talent. I had no idea that I was going to be in for such a treat. Before we get to Michael let talk about the openers. First let's talk a bit about Connie Rae. If you are not familiar with her I would say she is a blues / gospel singer with a really big voice. The members of her band change from time to time. This night the band consisted of Ray Weston, drums, Terry Medeiros, guitar and Norma Sancho on bass. These three provided the punch that this woman needed to get her message out. For a 30 minute show it was exceptionally well done and got a really nice response from the folks who got there early enough to see them.
Next up was Corey Crowder. Corey is a singer song writer from Georgia. He plays acoustic guitar and is accompanied by Lee DeWyze on mandolin. I would say his style is somewhat country not quite rock. I would love to tell you about what songs he played and how many he played but being a photographer I am usually too busy trying to get my shots in to keep track. That's why I like tagging along with a writer. I can read the review and find out what I missed. All I can say is that both I and the rest of the audience seemed to enjoy the show. By his last song he had most of the house on its feet, singing along with him and enjoying the music.
Now the meat as we say. Like I said earlier I had no clue on Michael Grimm. I heard someone at the venue say he was a blues guy. Well. They were kind of right. But they forgot to add gospel, soul and rock. This man’s voice covers quite a few areas. He had me from the first song and kept me with him to the end. I can tell you that he came with a band that was loaded for bear. Everyone he had on stage with him was top notch. He must have left an impression because I can name at least 3 songs that he did perform. The first was the Joe Cocker tune "Leave Your Hat On". Had Joe been in the room he would have been proud. Michael's voice fit that song just fine. The next one I can recall is a Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Simple Man". Again Ronnie Van would not have complained. For his lat song of the evening he choose a little Rod Stewart and the Faces song called "Stay With Me'. This brought the folks in the house back on their feet and when he left the stage the crowd wanted more. I was totally impressed with the show and would love to see him again. I hear that he is opening for Stevie Nicks at The City National Grove of Anaheim on October 12th. Wonder if I'll be able to score a photo pass for that one? Speaking of photos...... Please check out my Facebook page where I have posted some photos from this show. Just click on the link below.
