Johnny Reid could teach Mick Jagger a thing or two about showmanship.
A Canadian for all of two-days, the Scottish-born musician stole the show on Friday night, closing the opening day at the Thunder Bay Blues Festival with a performance for the ages, one sure to bring him a legion of new fans along the shores of Lake Superior.
“We’re here for a good time and we’re planning on giving you that, so I hope you have a wonderful time this evening,” the country-rocker told the crowd who flooded to Marina Park, most with one guy on their mind.
He didn’t disappoint.
A few songs into his set Reid danced made his way in front of the face, taking time to hug an ecstatic female fan base – and high five a guy or two – before waltzing and singing head first into the audience itself, singing his way across the crowd as he stopped to pose for selfies with anyone and everyone who asked.
Reid even debuted a few new songs, giving the crowd a few instructions along the way.
“If you like these songs, I would like you to go absolutely mental,” he said, his ever-present smile reaching from ear to ear.
“And if you don’t, just try to keep it to yourself.”
On stage, he worked the crowd, dancing his way from side to side, delivering hit after hit from his albums Kickin’ Stones, Dance With Me, A Place Called Love and Fire it Up.
Launching into Fire it Up’s title track, Reid invited long-time friend and occasional collaborator Alan Frew – the Glass Tiger front-man who performed earlier in the night – on stage for a duet that reignited an audience that really never lost its momentum in the first place.
“I’m sure that Winnipeg can hear us tonight,” Reid said, his show extending nearly a half-an-hour beyond the traditional 11 p.m. wrap.
Like all great showmen, Reid demonstrated a cool sense of humour too.
Asking the audience to join him singing Honey, Honey and dishing out parts to sing as he divided the Marina Park crowd in half, he took a playful shot at his more frugal fans enjoying the show for free on Lake Superior.
“You can afford to buy a big boat, but you can’t afford to come in here,” he joked, welcoming their voices to the cascade of melodic sounds drifting across the city’s downtown north core.
“I think I may have made a few non-friends.”
Those who knew him well and those who just discovered him on Friday night can rejoice. Reid will be back in Thunder Bay in eight short months, playing before an almost surefire sell-out crowd at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium.
