A night with Sister Hazel

Sister Hazel has been around for ages and, as vocalist Ken Block says, has a bazillion albums so it’s no wonder that House of Blues was packed to the rafters Friday night with fans of all ages ready to get their weekend started off with a good old fashioned rock show. And with that many songs there was plenty to play for them.

From songs such as Shame, to The Road, to This Kind of Love and Shooting Star, to an encore of Champagne High and Swan Dive the band gave fans a fantastic mix of old classics and new songs and not one song went by without the crowd singing and dancing along. Then came the ‘Sister Hazel Smooshup’ – Block’s answer to the song medley which consisted of a number of the band’s hits.

But it wasn’t all just songs. Sister Hazel has been together for a long time and that’s evident in their interaction onstage. With numerous jokes with each other, to borrowing a fan’s cowboy hat, to bringing out long time friend and support act Edwin McCain to join them towards the end of the set. Considering Block and Copeland had joined McCain at the end of his set it was fitting and the fans certainly loved it.

This was the kind of rock show I love – good friends playing good music and making the crowd feel like they’re just part of the family. You don’t have to have a fancy stage set up or big egos to be a great rock band. It’s all about the music and having a good time and Sister Hazel have, once again, done just that. Be sure to check out their newest CD “Heartland Highway” today.