What may be hidden in this spring/summers tour schedule is actor now turned musician Kiefer Sutherland. You might be thinking, “another actor who thinks he’s a musician?” Well, I had some of the same sentiments but I wanted to see what Sutherland brought to the stage myself.
First and foremost, he had a very tight band that accompanied him. They were: Austin Vallejo and Michael Gurley on guitar, Joseph De La O on bass, and Jess Calcaterra on drums. Second, he really stuck to an original set of music. The only way to come across and to be taken seriously, is to play your own stuff. This night was mostly consisting of that. Lastly and most importantly, did the songs resonate with the crowd? I believe they did. Only one song “Not Enough Whiskey” has been released to the public.
Sutherland really wanted to convey the spirit of the album and, between songs, talked about the process of writing it. “My Best Friend” was written about having love for yourself. He stated “no one can love you like yourself!” He said that he was a late learner in life and he would be out drinking till 1:30am and wondering why he was still out and about. That’s where the song “Going Home” came from.
He was really appreciative of the crowd, especially for listening to songs that they have never been heard before. At one point, he actually did a shot of Fireball with a fan at the end of “Honey Bee.” Sutherland pretty much played an acoustic guitar for most of the evening’s tunes but it was when he played the Fender electric guitar that he really got my attention. He really held his own in the midst of Vallejo and Gurley while plucking the six string on “Going Home,” “Shirley Jean” and “Honey Bee.”
He appreciated being in Buffalo as he said “while growing up outside of Toronto, we used to come here for Hockey tournaments quite often.” He also quipped “Being Canadian, it was a rite of passage and you had to listen to Rush and Gordon Lightfoot.” “Sundown” was one of the tracks he covered.
Sutherland worked the stage well and put on a good performance. His full length CD will be coming out in late June. For now you can purchase a sampler CD at the merchandise booth at his shows. So if and when he does come to your town, keep an open mind and ear and go listen up for yourself!
Setlist:
Can’t Stay Away
I’ll do Anything
Calling out Your Name\Truth in Your eyes
Not Enough Whiskey
Going Home
My Best Friend
Ways to be Wicked
Goodbye
Honey Bee (Tom Petty cover)
Shirley Jean
All She Wrote
Down in a Hole
Encore:
Gonna Die
Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
Knockin’ on Heaves Door (Bob Dylan cover)
We would like to thank Scott Adkins from Webster PR for the credentials to review the show.
