Zac Hacker exudes confidence... Maybe that's why the future star didn't let the odds stop him.

To the locals, PJs is the place to be on Saturday nights, but if you were expecting the same crowd on a Friday evening, don't be alarmed if you swing by and find a virtual ghost town. It's just the nature of things...  That didn't stop him from scheduling his video shoot which demanded a large audience to appear on film to be used in making his promotional video, however. He needed to depend and count on his fans being there to support their favorite 'next big thing'.

High school football playofff games were being held at the same time, as well... Knowing that there would be those who couldn't attend the show was unfortunate, but deciding against postponing the show until a later date when perhaps the stars WOULD align for him, Zac chose to play on.

As if Mother Nature decided to join the odds against Zac, the temperature that evening was a frigid 17 degrees outside, without factoring in the wind chill! Undaunted, Zac pushed forward and put on an amazing show for any who were left standing after the odds stopped piling against him.

Angela Hacker and James LeBlanc played an acoustic set to open up the show for Zac, who kicked off his own set with his own flair on the Keith Urban hit, "My Better Half". Playing one of his own songs from his debut album entitled "Get Your Love On", Zac played my own personal favorite, "Never Been Loved". It is a tale of past love and vulnerability, and the discovery of real love. To get the audience moving and feeling with him, he and his band played a rockin', funky "Gotta Quit Drinkin'" followed by the Billy Currington cover, "Don't".

Getting back to his own material, he next played the title track from his album, "Get Your Love On" followed by a handful of other covers, all which he played with his own twist, making each song sound like a Zac Hacker original, including "Hillbilly Deluxe" by Brooks and Dunn, "My Kind of Rain" by Tim McGraw, and "Here's To You" when someone in the audience requested for him to play something by Rascal Flatts.

Zac's keyboardist, Marty Lewis, sang the next 2 songs. Both were covers --- "Hicktown" by Jason Aldean and "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC. Doing another Keith Urban cover, Zac picked up after Marty's time in the spotlight by playing "Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me?", a message to all in attendance, perhaps...

Showing his more serious side, he played the guaranteed hit "If It Wasn't For The Whiskey", also from his debut album, telling his own personal story of rising above the odds as a child in a difficult relationship with his father, while his father fought his own personal battle with the bottle. Trying out a new song next and showing his versatility, Zac played a tune called "Chasing Tears in the Rain", which was a great pop-flavored song. It was an awesome song and I hope he continues to include it in his playlist at future shows. "Once in a Lifetime Love" came through the sound system next, as Zac and his band continued their performance by mixing in both covers and originals. Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" was next and Zac definitely made that his own, as well. Never having heard him play the song before, I enjoyed it and am still in awe at how talented this young man truly is. Music is not what he does, it's who he is!

Kicking things up, "Life Is A Highway" was next, followed by Jimi Hendrix's "Red House". Zac definitely has the musicianship to play Jimi's music and to do it justice, as well as the perfect bluesy, soulful voice to pull you into the song with him.

Passing the show back to Marty for one more song, the band played while Marty sang "Somebody Like You", another Keith Urban cover, the 3rd and final Urban song for the evening. Angela joined the band for a few songs, starting with the Aerosmith hit "Walk This Way", followed by the 80s rock band Raven's "Supersticious", "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band, and ending with the Eagles' "Life In The Fast Lane".

It may have been a gamble to play the odds, but when you put a microphone in front of him and a guitar in his hands, Zac Hacker exudes confidence. The stars may not have lined up for him, but his fans sure did, old and new alike!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!! I was asked by a few folks for a review of this show since they weren't able to make it... I know it's not nearly as good as being there, but I hope you enjoy reading about what a great show it really was!! Now... onto it!

The PRE-show events didn't 'zactly play out as hoped... However, it was not a catastrophe, as we still managed to arrive prior to Zac's set, and even before Byron Green's (who opened up the show that night)... I had exchanged emails with a couple who said they'd be attending from Chattanooga, so during the time before Zac started his set, I scanned the audience to see if I could pick them out. I had narrowed it down to a possible 2 or 3 couples... and I was right.  I'm so glad to see Zac getting all the support that he does get, even when it involves a 3 hour (or more) drive. A big shout out to Lamar and Debi for making the trip! I'm so glad you came down! It was great meeting you!
 
Anyway, Zac's first song was "Life Is a Highway" most recently made popular again by Rascal Flatts... followed by the Keith Urban cover "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me". Zac covers both songs extremely well, but seems to excel at every Keith Urban song I've heard him perform. Next, he introduced a new song to us all, called "Lie To Me". This song will have the ladies melting at his feet... extremely sexy with sultry vocals and music that matches and sets the mood. The lyrics show a vulnerability that draws you in and you find yourself just getting lost in the song until its over before you realize it. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs of his!
 
His next song was the first track on his current album, the lively "Lonely Town", followed by another Keith Urban cover "Better Half". I stand by my earlier assessment of his Urban-esque prowess... The next 3 songs were album cuts, starting out with a great "Get Your Love On", followed by "Never Been Loved", which, no matter how many times I hear that song, I never get sick of it... whether it's being performed live or listening to it on the album. It really is an amazing song of the discovery of real love and the vulnerability it brings upon you.  To kick things into high gear, Zac next chose to rock his own album cut of "Memphis Women". 
 
His next song was another cover, "All Right Now", which kept the crowd going in the same high octane energy generated from the stage the song before, only to have things calmed down with his most popular song to this point in his career, "If It Wasn't For The Whiskey".  He followed that up with another album track, "Anything But Love", which got the crowd involved and moving again.  He slowed it down for one more song when he covered his 3rd Keith Urban song of the night, "Tonight I Wanna Cry". I think Keith himself would be impressed with how well Zac pulls off his music... Both of them share a gift of being not only great vocalists, but great musicians.
 
No country music concert or show is ever TRULY a country show without a great drinking song, and Zac didn't leave the audience hanging. He ROCKED the house with a very funky "Gotta Quit Drinking" that had a driving beat that got even more people up and on their feet until the dancefloor had no more room. "Easy Like Sunday Morning" slowed things down just long enough for Zac to share the spotlight with his "keyboardist au jus", Marty Lewis. Marty played two songs, both covers, and was amazing as well! His 10 minutes in the spotlight involved the Big and Rich hit "Save A Horse..." and the classic "Highway To Hell". Marty's got the right kinda voice and stage attitude to pull both of those songs off convincingly. If you don't know who Marty is, check out his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/martylewis.
 
Zac did one more cover, "Supersticious", which was funky and fun and unfortunately his last song of the evening... He let his bass player, Steve Vickery close out the night with "Life In The Fast Lane" and sadly, that was the end.  Big sis, Angela, and James LeBlanc would be on shortly to conclude the show and the evening.
 
Zac's show was one of his best, but I think the highlight for me was getting to hear a new song (and managing to get a video of it, as well) and meeting more fans. The video of "Lie To Me" is already uploaded both to my personal MySpace page (www.myspace.com/samara_elaine) and to the fan website on the videos page (www.zachackerfans.com).  Check it out and see what you think! I think you'll fall in love with Zac all over again!

As we pull into the parking lot for the Bayou Blue, we see someone quickly scrambling to add David's name to the sign for tonight's performances... "No 'E' on the end" says my passenger... We watch to see if they will spell "Romain" correctly.  Surprisingly, and much to our delight, they DO spell Romain correctly.  Woohoo! 

Next, we enter the venue and get set up for the show... As I enter, I hear my name called... One of Zac's fans made it to the show and spotted me.  I look... think... and say "Leslie?" My memory's not what it used to be... I used to be AMAZING with names.  I still do pretty well, but not like I used to.  *shrug*  Anyway, after a brief conversation, I find my way to my 'station' for the night... get my camera and gear out so that I'm ready whenever they are.

It didn't take long for the show to 'erupt' once it started... Zac started out by playing the James LeBlanc penned "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde"... He really ROCKS that song, even when it's just an acoustic show.  Ironically, later in the show he did an acoustic version of Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer", which rocked even MORE!! When I heard him start the song, I wondered how "Paralyzer" would sound without the rest of the band.  Granted, I'd heard him play it acoustically once before, but this was different somehow.  I was impressed!  Can you imagine?  After all this time, and after all those shows I've been to, Zac still never ceases to amaze me!

Anyway, as for the rest of the show, the guys both lit it up!! David played "When The Rain Comes Down" by request (Thanks, Holly!) and "Please" (my own personal favorite from David's album). Both guys did lots of covers with a few originals mixed in... and joined each other on several songs, as well. You never knew if one would start AND finish the song, or if one would start and the other would finish. It was entertaining and lots of fun to witness...

They did 'old school' music mixed in with some of the new... They did bluesy numbers and mixed it up by throwing some dance/freestyle/pop songs in for good measure. "Turn The Page" preceded "Rollin' On The River", "Foolish Pride", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Tonight I Wanna Cry"... A persistent fan requested a couple of songs by 'bribing' the guys with a $50 bill (which later magically turned into a $100 bill when he vehemently wanted to hear the 2nd song).  "Me and Bobby McGee" came over the speaker system next, followed by a lively "Wild Thing" straight into "Baby Got Back".  David's quite the goofball entertainer and at times even Zac couldn't help but laugh... Don't believe me? Check out the pictures... It sure was a fun show to photograph, I'll say that much!!

They did play some more 'normal' music to their usual shows, as well... David did an amazing job with "Wave on Wave" and "Drift Away".  It was interesting to hear David's renditions of songs I'm used to hearing Zac play, like "Tupelo Honey" (I'm sorry David... you rocked that song! But... I'm still very partial to Zac's version) and "Easy Like Sunday Morning"... Zac did songs from his album, inlcuding "Any Bridge", "If It Wasn't For The Whiskey", and "Memphis Women and Chicken".

On the slightly more rock side, they did "Little Pink Houses", "Beverly Hills", "With or Without You" and "American Woman"... Not to be left out were the blues numbers, including one of my favorites that Zac performs "Woman Way 'Cross Town" and "Crossroads".  Of course, they DID also do a couple of 'traditional country' songs as well like David's take on "Foolish Pride", "Great Day To Be Alive" and "Country Boy Can Survive" and Zac's spin on Rascall Flats' hit "Here's To You" and Keith Urban's "Stupid Boy".  They ended the show by passing around a "tip hat" (they didn't have a tip JAR, so the hat would have to do! This kinda gives a whole new meaning to 'tip your hat', doesn't it? Hehe) Based on how much was 'earned', they would decided whether or not we REALLY wanted one more song. Fortunately for all of us who just couldn't get enough, they decided they WOULD do one more song, and so the night concluded with the Garth Brooks mega-hit "Friends In Low Places", which seemed to be the theme of the night.  It was just a bunch of friends hanging around listening to a couple of other friends who just so happened to be very talented singers and musicians.