Dean Brody and Dallas Smith brought their Friends to Kingston

Last Wednesday, Dean Brody and Dallas Smith brought their Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone Tour to Leon’s Centre in Kingston and it was another huge success!

For the early shows of the tour, Jimmie Allen was there but after the passing of Jimmie’s father recently, he has left the tour and The Reklaws were added and they did a wonderful job of warming up the near sell out crowd. Their energy onstage is contagious and they had the crowd into it right from the start. They played a shortened set but still played their hits like “I Wish You Were Beer”, “I Do Too” and “Long Live The Night”. They even did their trademark beer chugging contest, pretty sure Jenna won that one.

This show wasn’t your conventional country music show by a long shot, but it worked flawlessly. I have never seen a show where there were two complete bands onstage and playing at the same time, but we saw it in this show. As Dean and Dallas traded songs in the opening sequence, that bands switched back and forth with them and they accomplished it perfectly.

Dallas settled in to deliver a great set as we have come to expect from him and his band. They are a force onstage, constantly moving around the stage and providing a ton of visual interest on top of their impeccable playing. I have always been impressed with this band.

Dallas delivered a great set which included several of his hits such as his hit ballad “Autograph” which was an obvious fan favourite. “Drop”, “Kids With Cars” and “Wasting Gas” were also fan favourites. Dallas is a whirlwind of energy onstage and we have come to count on that but he can deliver a ballad or perform a duet just as well. That was proven when he recorded a duet with Terri Clark called “One Drink Ago”. That part is in the capable hands of MacKenzie Porter on this tour and she nails it! She also performed her own single “These Days”. What a talent she is!

Chad Brownlee came out next for a couple of songs. This hockey player turned country singer makes you think that his transition from hockey was what he was meant to do all along. He performed “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere” to the very receptive crowd. Both these guests impressed me and I can’t wait to see them in a full show setting!

Dean Brody was next up and he was ready for it. I have seen Dean several times, full band, solo and he can do it all. He has even been known to do a chain saw solo here and there. His set was full of our favourites like “Bush Party”, “Dirt Road Scholar”, “Canadian Girls” and of course “Whiskey In A Teacup”. Dean Brody has become a big part of Canadian country music and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. His band is also top notch and can kick butt with the best of them.

It was only fitting to close the show the same way it opened, Dean and Dallas together, sharing the spotlight, but this time a taste of acoustic music before getting everyone out there to do a full two band version of Dean Brody’s “Bring Down The House”, which they did do.

When I heard about this tour, I wondered about the logistics of touring together and how they would deal with two bands while performing together but it all came together flawlessly! Every detail was addressed, and the audience was given a show of the highest quality. The tour now heads west so get ready Western Canada for a must-see show!

For more information check out the websites.

Dean Brody

Dallas Smith

MacKenzie Porter

Chad Brownlee

More photos…….