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Friday, August 6, 2010

Singin' In the Deer Valley Rain: Bryon Friedman


A tip for a free concert at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah appeared on my Facebook newsfeed Tuesday.  By Wednesday afternoon, it evolved into a small gathering at the foot of the stage.  Until it started raining, that is.  The concert was temporarily halted and the entire hill of people ran to cover, many to the stage.
 
I heard a guy say, "This is Deer Valley, why can't they figure out how to control the !@#%! rain!"  An announcer told us the drenching rain was a ten minute deal and we'd be back on the grassy hill soon.  And he was right.

Bryon Friedman wowed us with his mellow acoustical guitar prowess.  The songs were familiar as I'd listened to much of his website the night before, right after I learned about the concert.  Sirius XM’s Coffee House Singer-Songwriter Discovery of the Year, Bryon performed "Roll With You," "Falling So Far," and "Easier" among others.
 
Based on my preview, I thought it would be a mellow evening.  It was anything but.  We found ourselves running for cover to stage right, twice again, watching the continuing concert from a minimal distance to Bryon and the bass player, and the drummer. It was unbelievably cool to see and hear the concert up close and personal, and yes, the weather was a reprieve from the hot, humid weather in the valley.
The stage was much easier to dance on than was the landscaping bark where we'd jigged three nights earlier.  Bryon ended with an encore snappy dance tune which led to impromptu swing dancing with lifts and flying legs and arms.  Helmets may have been recommended for the dancers and spectators had an insurance agent been there.  "You were so light, I just kept on going ..." he said to her.
 
We were about last to leave the amphitheater area and made way to Main Street for dinner.  On our way, we ran into others in the group who had left the concert early because of the rain.  Once at the No Name Saloon, we danced in our bar stools to the rock and disco tunes while we waited for our $10 entrees over beverages.  I sipped hot tea to get rid of the chill.  Never knew a saloon could or would serve that up.  We all learned the importance of seating charts at dinner. {What a crazy night.}


Many thanks to Amy Ochoa for the dancing photos!

Disclosure: Admission to this event was FREE. I received NO compensation for this review.

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