Concert Review: Josh Gracin at Maryland Live! Casino

Image found here.

In honor of Armed Forces Day, Josh Gracin from American Idol performed at Rams Head Center Stage at Maryland Live! Casino. It was a free concert, and I like his music, so of course I wanted to go!

Before Gracin performed, the USO Show Troupe from New York (three women, one man) came on stage and sang a few patriotic songs. Along with "America the Beautiful" and songs like that, they also sang "Where the Stars & Stripes & Eagle Fly." I love that song, but their version was not very good. I almost wish they hadn't sang that song; if they hadn't, I bet Gracin would have performed it and would have done a better job!

Here's the original version by Aaron Tippin:

After that, Gracin came on. I think it was obvious to everyone how much weight he's put on; I guess that's what divorce and suicidal thoughts will do to you...Anyway! I was just as distracted by his androgynous guitar player, who had extra long hair and made a funny pug face the whole time. Gracin played a lot of his newer stuff that I didn't recognize, but the Maroon 5 medley he did was really cool!

Here are some of my favorite Josh Gracin songs:

Stay with Me (Brass Bed)

Nothin' to Lose

 

I Want to Live

 

But for such a fun evening, the place wasn't even half full. It was such a shame, since this concert was a tribute to our veterans and their families. When a show is free, people have no reason to actually stick to their plans and go see it. The casino should have charged even just $10, which could have been refunded in chips or something, just to hold people accountable to actually show up. 

The highlight of the night was when my raffle number was called and I won $500! That could make any concert worthwhile!