Colt Ford @ the Ponderosa Lounge--December 17, 2011

Saturday, December 17, 2011, several genres of music crashed together in loud harmony on Jubitz's Ponderosa Lounge stage. First up was opening act, Chance McKinney n' Crossfire.

Chance was the winner of CMT's Music City Madness contest a couple years ago; and has also had a #1 video on the station with his song, "Be Real".

While McKinney's music is definitely in the country vein, he's added his own touch to the sound by mixing in styles from other decades as well. One song that stood out in particular was "Beachbillies"; very cool song. In addition, McKinney did cover versions of several other country artists during his 90 minute set.

Over all, in the amount of time Chance has been in the national spotlight, he's definitely learned how to work a crowd up and keep them going. I see a great future for this gentleman.

There was a short break in the live music, then it was time to bring Colt Ford onstage.

Ford's main claim to fame is his rapping. Most of the actual singing is left to others in his band, while Colt raps his lines. This doesn't mean Colt isn't able to sing; quite the contrary. Ford actually has a great singing voice, as evidenced on several songs that night; most notably, his new single, "She Likes To Ride In Trucks". It's a song he wrote about his sixteen year-old daughter.

At one point during the set, Ford introduced the audience to his drummer, saying he's a rockstar, with the tattoo to prove it. Sure enough, the drummer raised his sleeve, showing a large "R" and a star on his arm.

Colt then said his drummer was going to do a rock n roll song, and he, (Colt), was going to play drums. With that, the band kicked in to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", with Ford on drums.

Another highlight of the night was Ford doing his version of "Dirt Road Anthem", the #1 song he wrote for Jason Aldean. While not as polished as Aldean's take, still a great rendition by Ford.

The night was definitely charged with music, and a lot of fun. Hopefully both Colt Ford and Chance McKinney will make their way back to the Pacific Northwest in the near future.