Phil Vassar Dominates Medina Event Center Show

Phil Vassar came ready to entertain at the Medina Event Center in Minnesota on Friday night. Minnesota was one of the stops on his cross-country “American Soul” tour.

If the fans’ ages were any indication of how talented and ageless Vassar is then we are sure to continue to see his shows be a huge success. The Medina Event Center was packed full of excited, dancing concert goers whose ages ranged from young adults to the elderly.

Sunglasses on, microphones loud, piano ready to go, band in place and his Twitter feed filled with requests, Vassar provided anything but boredom at Friday’s show. Opening with his 2004 hit, “In a Real Love”, Vassar immediately caught everyone’s attention. Standing at the piano, tickling the ivories, and exuding excitement Phil Vassar showed everyone that he was there to party.

Following his opening, Vassar continued with another number one hit, “Carlene” which found the crowd standing and dancing as he jammed on the piano. From there, Vassar and his band went right to the heart of what makes his shows so entertaining; Twitter requests. Vassar checked his requests and performed “I Would Walk 5,000 Miles” to the audience’s delight.

When Vassar was not in front of the piano showing off his incredible piano skills, he could be found on top of it. Often singing his songs either kneeling or sitting on the piano, the crowd was enthralled in the entertainment of the show. The entire night the crowd sang along and did not miss a beat. Vassar, being an incredible song writer, was sure to include some of his best hits which included songs he recorded and songs he wrote for others.

The crowd was on their feet as he sang, “Bye Bye,” “My Next 30 Years” and “I’m Alright.” Paying tribute to Minnesota, per audience member request, Vassar whipped out an honorable rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain” as the crowd sang along. Vassar tried his hand at Shania Twain, which was not half bad, and continued down the request list performing a killer rendition of “Old Time Rock and Roll” that had the audience on their feet dancing and belting out the words with Vassar.
Vassar demonstrated that nothing stops his show, even when some unwanted stage crashers took it upon themselves to join him on stage while he was singing, “Little Red Rodeo.” Vassar continued the song as he waited for security to remove the two men off stage, but never missed a beat. He even threw in a classic joke about remembering when he also drank a beer for the first time which instantly had the audience laughing.

One of the most memorable parts of the night was when Vassar closed the show with the Billy Joel classic, “Piano Man.” Playing the harmonica, piano and covering vocals this song was a team performance between Vassar and the audience. Phil Vassar led the crowd with the initial harmonica, piano and vocals but had the audience sing a good portion together acoustically which made the performance. After Vassar finished the song on harmonica, piano and vocals, then crowd awarded him with a standing ovation, which perfectly closed out the night.
A class act, true entertainer who is ready to please, a Phil Vassar show should be on anyone’s must-see list. To say his show is entertaining is an understatement.

Tiffany Buszta / @TBuszta

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