Gettin' Back Out There: Nothin' Fancy: A Review

 

  Anyone who hasn't lived under a rock for the last two years knows that most concert venues are just now beginning to reopen. If one looks hard enough, you will find that the music scene is slowly coming to life again. Whether you like rock, country, hip-hop, or a mixture of these genres of music, it does not take long to find a local show. While the big stadium tours are great, local venues will start to breathe life into the music scene first. Often ticket prices at these venues are lower. Economically, people are hurting now more than ever before. Small venues like the Riley Performing Arts Center in Ocala, Florida, host monthly summer concerts to satisfy the public's desire to get back out there and support the music industry.

  The Riley Performing Arts Center has teamed up with WindFM to present "WindFM Rock's The Riley," a monthly concert series that will see different classic rock tribute bands. It will include everything from Lynard Skynard to ACDC & Def Leopard. The June show was held on the 4^th and featured Nothin' Fancy. Nothin' Fancy's the ultimate Lynard Skynard tribute. You could tell there was pent-up energy from the start of the show. There was barely any time in the show where the audience was not engaged. I have seen many other tribute bands who don't have as much stage presence as this group. Combining the band's tremendous stage presence with the venue's intimacy almost feels like every seat is a front-row seat.

  Riley does a great job taking into account the needs of all its patrons. Every seat is positioned to have the best view of the stage. The seats are so good that even the handicap seats where I sat could see the back of the stage where the keyboardist played. Another highlight of the evening was during intermission of the show when I got to chat with the keyboardist at random. The conversation only lasted a few minutes, but it reinforced that it was worth the $60 I spent on tickets.

  Overall, I would give the night an 8.5 out of 10. I did not bring cash with me because I did not know whether they had merchandise available. All well, there's always next month when the Motley Crue tribute comes to town. As a final thought, it is time that we get out there and start living life again. Hopefully, this blog will inspire and reassure those who are hesitant.