Following performances by Carrie Underwood and Sugarland, the Covelli Centre is proving to be a viable option for country music fans in the area.
They ended their set with "One in Every Crowd," before leaving the stage. Wholesale F1 hats As Pink Floyd's "Is There Anybody Out There?" faded, Montgomery Gentry returned and performed "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS and finished the evening with "Gone."
Montgomery Gentry mixed up serious songs with the more playful tunes, heading into "All Night Long," then "What Do Ya Thank About That," then getting more emotional with "While You're Still Young" and "Roll With Me."
"Before we play this song, I gotta tell you about it. Because it's about family. And if you don't know anyone like this in your family, well, then, it's probably you," Eddie Gentry said, introducing, "A Long Line of Losers."
That type of working-class attitude resonated well with the crowd through the night. Montgomery Gentry even slid in a local reference, ending "My Town" by singing, "This is Youngstown."
It's a song that fits Youngstown well, as it begins, "He works way too much for way too little. He drinks way too early till way too late./ He hasn't had a raise since New Years Day in '88. He gets trampled on by everyone 'cept when he comes in here."
Montgomery Gentry also performed "The Big Revival," "A Lucky Man" and "Hell Yeah," which the audience greeted with hats, fists and beer in the air.
Their set, too, had a patriotic moment. Cheap A&F hats Eddie Gentry spoke passionately about the Armed Forces before the band played "Something To Be Proud Of."
Troy Gentry stayed mostly true to album recordings, while Eddie Gentry added much more depth and character to his voice, which was only topped by his onstage antics, in his trademark black jacket with rhinestones and red leather Jim Beam cowboy boots.
"This song is dedicated to all the girls who think the grass is greener on the other side," Troy Gentry said before they began "Your Tears Are Comin'."
They introduced their fourth song as a new album, but did not mention it's title. However, the title of their next song came across perfectly clear.
Montgomery Gentry played just over an hour, doing their most popular songs. They started with their current hit single, "Hillbilly Shoes" and followed that with "Back When I Knew it All" and "If You Ever Stop Loving Me."
The Kentucky brothers were larger-than-life with a large, steel set and a plethora of lights. Their sound was mixed perfectly, as their slight Southern twang reverberated through the Covelli Centre.
After their 45-minute set and a brief intermission, it was time for Montgomery Gentry.
The obvious standout song of the Chris Higbee Project's set was their first song, "Hillbillyology," a light-hearted, fun dance tune. "I did my time at the community college, 'cause mama said I should./ But I gotta say I got more knowledge from my time in the woods./ There aren't no diploma, but I got my honorary degree in Hillbillyology," Higbee sang to the crowd.
The Chris Higbee Project also did a cover of AC/DC's "You Shook me All Night Long" that got the crowd up and dancing on their feet. It was a perfect lead-in for their cover of Charlie Daniels' "Devil Went Down to Georgia," that also brought in some rock elements, especially with VInisick's riffs.
Higbee also played acoustic guitar and violin throughout the set, entering into a hearty play-off with guitarist Mark Vinisick, which was followed by a moving tribute to the military. Higbee told the crowd that his wife, Emily, served two years in Afghanistan and also noted that a video has been recorded for the song that will be shown on CMT.
The evening began with the Chris Higbee Project, from nearby Dawson, Pa. Lead singer Chris Higbee used to perform with PovertyNeck Hillbillies, which ended in 2008. He asked the crowd if they had heard of that band and they cheered, before The Chris Higbee Project launched into a PovertyNeck Hillbillies tuneWholesale A&F hats ."If you keep coming, they'll keep having these event," Doug told the crowd.
Doug and Mary Ann from K105's Doug and Mary Ann in the Morning introduced the evening, with Doug [James] urging the fans to support country music acts at the arena.
In cowboy hats and boots, country music fans came together Saturday at the Covelli Centre to see Montgomery Gentry.