Gary Allan at Winstar

I have wanted to see Gary Allan in concert for quite awhile. He played at Winstar last year in February but I just wasn't able to make it happen. This year I made it happen! I bought a ticket Friday afternoon for the Saturday show. I put on my most country outfit, which is a checkered shirt I bought eight years ago at an H&M in Las Vegas, black jeans and boots (not cowboy boots, mind you, boots from Target), and headed out in the cold weather.

I discovered Gary Allan years ago when I was still into country music. I heard "It Would Be You" and immediately loved it. I followed him over the years, and when he released the masterful sad song, "Songs About Rain," I couldn't get enough of it. I'm not a music junkie or aficionado, but I know that this song has a very interesting structure. It has several lines in the middle of the verse that build up to a crescendo in the middle. I love it. Listen to how he sings and the music is composed in the line, "Well I thought I was over you, looks like maybe I'm not."

What I like about Gary Allan is that he's not "pure" country - the dude's from Bakersfield, California. I think his record company tired to make him into country at the beginning, but as he became more popular he has been able to be true to himself (he even named one of his albums See if I Care).

It was a good concert, but I wasn't sure how it would end after, not even halfway into the show, he had already played "It Would Be You" AND "Songs About Rain." By the end, I realized his encore song would be "Right Where I Need to Be."

He still has an incredible voice, but there were times I felt like the instruments overpowered the songs themselves. I think most of his songs work better without the bombastic, over-produced-ness of a live show. I bet he sounds great at really small venues with just a guitar and few other instruments.