Crystal Bowersox packed the Meyer Theater for the first of two sold out shows April 1.
With her fan favorite singles, a couple of covers, and the fact that she grew up near the area, Bowersox knew she had a good show that night.
“I feel good, I saw a lot of familiar faces, people I know and people I love,” Bowersox, said. “It’s just been fun, I’m glad we had an opportunity like this. People were asking for a second show after the first sold out.”
“She has got a great voice,” Jerry Cowarl, a Bowersox fan said. “She should have won [American Idol].
The full house held a wide variety of ages.
“This was fantastic, she is wonderful,” Julie Hartzell, 46, said.
“It was awesome!” Christina Capstrant, 9, said.
The audience was impressed with the performance, despite Bowersox having a cough, which she later explained was a result of illness.
“I thought it was wonderful even though she was sick,” Sandy Kosmyna said.
Her spot on American Idol landed her a lot of fans. Despite being the runner-up, she is still number one to her fans.
“We loved it,” Brenda Iman, said. “We watched her all last season.”
Bowersox wasn’t the only performer on stage tonight. Her opening act, Kevin Daniels, is a Monroe native and also showed some impressive talent.
“He really had an amazing voice, he really sounded perfect up there,” Grace Fredricks said.
He was accompanied by Tony Marchese, who played the violin on the last three songs.
“Me and Kevin, yeah we hook up occasionally,” Marchese said.
Daniels was more than delighted to share the stage with Bowersox.
“I met her for the first time tonight; she is just like us, really down to Earth,” Daniels said.
Bowersox had the right stage presence, the right songs, the right skills and definitely the right team.
Bassist Frankie May, a crowd favorite, was excited about playing two nights.
“I had a great time, I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” May said.
Bowersox’s husband and guest back-up vocalist, Brian Walker, not only poured his heart out on stage in a song about his recently losing his mother, but also sold out every CD he brought for the first night.
“In all honesty I couldn’t tell you what one note sounded like tonight,” Walker said. “It was a surreal experience.”
“I’m not surprised she sold out, it’s awesome,” said, mandolin player Charlie King. “It was a great crowd.”
Even with two sold-out shows, the group still held a little bit of humor with what they said.
“I have known Brian for about 18 years now, I taught him everything he knows,” King said.
The crowd loved every part of the show, including new group member, D.J.
“I feel great, first time I played a show with her, it went great,” said, new drummer, D.J.
The show started off with an April fools joke by the harmonica player Ryan Suzuka. He came out on stage instead of Bowersox, taking pictures of the audience as a joke.
“It is fun to play with Crystal and be her nanny; I watch her son Tony,” Suzuka said. “I met Crystal about six years ago while she was playing the subways.”
The entire show was filled with laughs and great music fit for any age. You can check her Facebook out at http://www.facebook.com/crystalbowersox, and Kevin Daniels’ at http://www.myspace.com/kevindaniels88.
