Yet another stellar Country music performance from Brett Kissel

by Miles Overn

Brett Kissel stopped in Kelowna for one of the last shows on his We Were That Song tour and delivered yet another stellar country music performance. He and his band brought what must have been a tractor trailer unit full of energy and attitude along with all the gear and instruments and all the other trappings that go into making a concert happen. As I tweeted from the venue, this was high energy and unbridled fun on steroids! The boys came to play.

The crowd was up on their feet and pushing to the front of the stage seconds into the first song of the night. As soon as Kissel strode from the stage right wings, everybody knew that it was on. There wasn’t a single butt still in a chair, and they’d stay up all night.

Kissel is young enough to make it hard to believe that he’s been putting out albums for over 15 years. He released his first one when he was 12 or 13 back in 2003. Watching him perform, or rather experiencing one of his performances, makes it instantly clear though that this man has been doing this thing for a long time. Definitely not his first rodeo.

Most of the songs he played on this tour stop came from his three most recent albums. Tracks from Started With A Song, Pick Me Up, and We Were That Song made it onto the setlist and had that extra energy that live performance brings to a tune. The band was tight and then some, providing Kissel the perfect backdrop for his well crafted songs and the powerful vocals he provided over them. The arrangements were polished and precise.

As the evening progressed, Kissel introduced more flavor into his offering through genuine interaction with his fans and letting the band stretch out a little bit more. Guitar intros and solos grew a little longer on the right songs and band members played off each other more while never losing the tight sense of time that the best Country bands bring to the platform. It’s always been at the core of the best Country bands and Kissel’s band maintained and continued that tradition here on Tuesday night.

This reviewer is never really sure with Kissel whether it’s the well-crafted songs or his voice that makes him so special. Maybe it’s both. I do recall the seeing him perform for the first time years ago and thinking “Holy Crap, this guy can sing!”

A great performance both requires and results in the audience being in it with the artist. Kissel’s rep and his many hits got the fans into Kelowna Community Theatre. His performance took all that ready to burst energy and excitement and cranked the heat all the way up as the concert crossed the line from merely great to absolutely phenomenal.

I seldom mention the opener in a review, and in fact the last time may have been those 6 or 7 years ago when I saw Kissel open for another Country performer. Davidson and his ban nailed their set. Full stop. With a lesser headliner they may have come close to stealing the show. As it was, they were the perfect band to get Kissel’s fans ready for what was to come. Brilliant call.

This was Brett Kissel’s show. The man is a great performer and entertainer and a top-drawer Country singer/songwriter to boot. Kelowna fans got to share in all that on this evening when the We Were That Song tour brought Kissel to town for one of the best country music performances in a very long time.