Arriving at 8 Seconds Saloon located on the westside of Indianapolis – my sister and I took our seats front stage center. The celebrations were getting underway for local WFMS disc jockey and 1998 CMA Personality of the Year, Indy’s own J.D. Cannon, who is celebrating his 25^{th year. (J.D. is also a member of the prestigious Country Radio Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.) I chatted with Steve Stuart, who is the WFMS Friends and Neighbors/Promotions disc jockey, before he took the stage to announce the arrival of Damon Smith, a high school friend of Blake Shelton, and his band the Beautiful Mistakes to the stage.}

     ^{Well ladies, with an electric smile and a personality to match Damon hit the stage rockin’ with John Mellencamp’s tune “Lonely ‘Ol Night” before launching into “Walk Softly”. He gifted us with more Hoosier flavor singing Mellencamp’s, Cherry Bomb and Pink Houses. In Indiana listening to a Mellencamp tune is kin to finding a never-ending food source. We never get tired of hearing the “Cougar” tunes and Damon definitely stamped each song with his own personal style.}

     ^{Utilizing the entire stage singing and moving to the music, you can’t help but note Damon loves performing. Driving on, he whipped the crowd into a frenzy with Brooks and Dunn’s “Hard Workin’ Man” and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin”. It is apparent that not only Mellencamp is a huge influence on Damon’s music but Tom Petty as well. Singing Petty’s “Mary Jane” and “Breakdown”, Damon again showed his musical versatility and had the audience singing and clapping along.}

     ^{Damon sang three songs of his own, “Here She Comes”, “The Fool in Me”, and “The Way She Loves Me Now” which were all well received by the crowd. A woman sitting at our table remarked that she loved the song “The Fool in Me” and rushed over to buy a copy of his CD from the merchandise booth.}

     ^{What do you say about a man who has the power to render me speechless? Well, if you knew me as my family and friends do, this is not a frequent occurrence. With his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On”, Damon proceeded to do just that. From the first note, I had chills and they lasted to the end of the song. Although this is not a country tune – this was a perfect fit for Damon’s vocals and his rendition of the song was incredible. All in the audience were in complete agreement that this was one of the best moments of Damon’s performance.}

     ^{With his musical style and influences well pronounced, Damon stands apart as an individual on his way with such grand enthusiasm for the music and graciousness to his fans, he is destined to rise to the top of the charts by the sheer volume of his drive and determination. I am looking forward to hearing more country tunes from this Ada, Oklahoma native as he continues his journey in country music.}

     ^{During the intermission and change of set, I walked over to Damon’s booth to get a few pictures and tell him gave a great performance. It was glaringly apparent he was well received in Indiana as the line was long and full of people, okay a LOT of women, waiting for the chance to meet Damon and get an autograph or two. He greeted each person with his contagious smile and winning personality. He added a new “Nomad” to his fan base in the form of my sister Renee’, who especially enjoyed his performance and was thrilled to meet him.}

     ^{As Steve Stuart announced the arrival of Blake Shelton to the stage, the crowd went wild as he started his show with “Heavy Liftin’ “ followed by “Everytime I Look At You”, an awesome tune I could listen to over and over again. Blake looked out at the audience and said, “There sure are a lot of people in this bar drinkin’ on a Wednesday night, it must be for the J.D. Cannon Bash.” The crowd hooted and hollered in total agreement.}

     ^{Blake said, “To all the beautiful ladies that came out tonight, this one is for you.” Then we were blessed with his song “She Doesn’t Know”. Sharing with us, Blake acknowledged that Earl Thomas Conley is one of his favorites and they sat down and wrote a song together called “All Over Me”. This song was one of many highlights of the night for me, and pure perfection, with the line “Now to prove that I love her I crawl on my knees, for the whole world to see, Now that she’s all over me”.}

     ^{A crowd favorite “Redneck Girl” was a definite match for this club as it seemed to be full of a bunch of women proclaiming to be just that. They especially loved it when he substituted “Redneck” with “Indiana”.}

     ^{As Blake looked out at the crowd, he stated “There are a bunch of freakin’ rednecks here with cowboy boots, hats and Wranglers in the Indiana woods and proceeded to sing “My Neck of the Woods”.}

     ^{The crowd never settled down, except when Blake paused to say something. He stated that he wanted to do a lot of old songs for J.D. Cannon’s 25th Anniversary and began a medley starting with Eddie Rabbit’s “I Love a Rainy Night”, then on to “Black Sheep of the Family”, Good Friends, Good Whiskey, Good Lovin’ “ and “Crush On You”. I have to say, Blake could sing any song in this world and I would go to heaven a very happy woman.}

     ^{How do I explain the way we were literally blown away by Blake’s next song? Well, he did just that by singing “When Somebody Knows You That Well”, with the line “You play it cool, but it’s no use, she ain’t no fool and that’s the truth”. All acoustic and all Blake, this song is destined to become a “Blaketacular” radio hit in the next few months. Blake advised this was his new single and officially goes for adds on radio playlists March 15th and will be on his forthcoming album, Summer 2004.}

     ^{Blake dedicated his next song, Merle Haggard’s “Misery and Gin” to J.D. Cannon. He then introduced us to his band and told us he had been tired of hearing the same old thing on the radio so he wrote his next song, “I May be Country, but I’m not Dumb”. He asked for audience participation and asked us to yell out “Hell Yes” at his cue during the song. If you have ever been to Indiana, you know Hoosiers love the “participation thing” especially when it involves yelling out loud.}

     ^{Slowing it down and to the extreme delight of all his fans, Blake began singing “Austin”. When he finished, he leaned his face against the mike and said, “This is how y’all must be feeling after all the ballads”, truly a Blake moment for me. He then launched into “Brown-eyed Girl” and as the crowd came to their feet he got them all rowdy once again with “Playboys of the Southwestern World”. Everyone was dancing and singing along with Blake throughout each and every song. Taking it back a few years, Blake sang “Slow Hand”, a personal favorite of mine. And “The Baby” left few dry eyes in the house including mine as this song holds special meaning to many. This is by far one of the best ballads Blake sings. The emotion he delivers through this song is so powerful it rocks you to the core.}

     ^{Between songs, a young woman had squeezed her way up to the front of the stage to place a handwritten note that stated simply “Some Beach”. Blake asked her where she had heard that tune and she yelled that she had a brother-in-law that Blake knew. So before singing this request, Blake said, “Listen closely to the words, once we get past the (young woman’s) screams. This was a fun, upbeat song that shows Blake’s sense of humor. Everyone loved it, and you could tell everyone was listening intently to the words as he completed each line, they went a little crazy, including a certain young woman.}

     ^{Blake then told us there are country songs about mamas, trains, and trucks, so why not one of two dogs stuck together before singing the tune “Ol Red”. He gave his hat to a woman in the front row before beginning a medley of songs. Beginning with Conway Twitty’s “Tight Fittin’ Jeans”, he sang “Dixie on My Mind”, “Hound Dog”, “Penny, Penny” and “Whole Lotta Shakin” all the while running up and down the stage shaking hands and signing autographs for every person he could reach.}

     ^{I have had the pleasure of seeing Blake open for Toby Keith at a large, outdoor venue with a very short set, and now at a small venue with a more intimate setting. I absolutely preferred this show, which not only gave everyone the opportunity to experience Blake up close and personal, but the chance to be enlightened by his sense of humor as well as his striking presence. (I had a few people ask me if his eyes are really that blue up close, and is that his real hair - sort of a Memorex moment for me.) This was an absolute, without a doubt, spectacular performance from Blake and I hope more people tune in and turn it up when they hear his phenomenal voice emanating over the radio waves. I am looking forward to the release of Blake’s new album as he belongs on the top of the charts and deep in the hearts of those who follow him on his unbelievable journey.}

     Author’s Note: I would like to thank Susan at Damon’s merchandise booth and Damon Smith for taking the time to speak with me after the show. It was great to meet you both! I would like to say thanks to Jim Meyers, Production Manager for 8 Seconds Saloon for his assistance and a special thanks to WFMS, Steve Stuart and J.D. Cannon for everything they do for our country stars! Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary J.D Cannon!

^{I also finally had the opportunity to meet Larry Large, Merchandise Manager (and husband to Carol - Fan Club Prez) for Blake Shelton.  It was great to meet and tease the guy who dubbed me "Verrona" this past Christmas!} 

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