Small Mouth Sounds Fairfax Theatre reviews
Expected Just A Little More
My daughter, a 19 y.o., has been eager to see Small Mouth Sounds for around 4 or 5 years. The next time the US tour and date worked, I promised to take her. I checked her college schedule and the only show we could attend was in Raleigh. On the release date, I bought tickets and gave them to my daughter for her birthday. We drove over 500 miles for a long weekend and the concert. Needless to say, it was a great bonding opportunity to share with my girl, and we are both fans. Small Mouth Sounds is a solid performer even 30 years after the first time I saw him live. In some ways, he has gotten better with age and experience. His touring band, a good group of musicians, and Keith Scott can still thrill with his well-loved guitar. I saw Bryan twice previously in the 80s and 90s. My daughter wore the tour shirt from the concert I attended in '92 at the show.
The show energy stayed up for almost the entire show, and the crowd stood for all but 1 or 2 songs (and considering the average age, that was a feat in itself). Small Mouth Sounds was charismatic and joked with the crowd repeatedly between songs. The video display was excellent, and the interactive portions with the crowd were well received. Sound quality for an outdoor venue was superb, and his voice is as good, if not better, than it was the previous times I saw him (indoors).
My only negative was the length of the show. He clearly has more than enough material to perform for hours if needed. I thought that 1 hour and 40 minutes was a little lacking. Don’t get me wrong; it was a good 100 minutes, but I left wondering if I was the only one feeling a little short-changed at the end. I didn’t read any other reviews of shows before Raleigh and question if my observation is common. All things considered, I would go see him again, but next time, a little closer to home. Not that it matters, because there is nothing more valuable than spending quality time with your children, but between the tickets, the drive, 2-night hotel stay, parking, and incidental expenses, this was about an $800 endeavor.