Old Dominion gets up close and personal in Chelsea shows
Old Dominion rolled into Las Vegas for a couple of concerts over the weekend, rolled out no doubt leaving fans impressed not only with their hits but with the band members’ knack for writing No. 1 songs for other artists.
The contemporary country music band played shows Friday and Saturday nights to full houses at The Chelsea, delighting the audiences with hits ranging from “One Man Band,” “Snapback” and “Break Up with Him.” But bandmates Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi also took time out during the concert to talk about how their success in songwriting helped fuel their desire to make Old Dominion into one of country music’s top bands.
The three, sitting at center stage with their guitars, told tales of how songs they wrote became hits for others, including “Sangria,” which Rosen penned and became a No. 1 hit for Blake Shelton; Ramsey’s “Chainsaw” for The Band Perry; and Tursi’s “Light It Up” (co-written and performed by Luke Bryan), “A Guy Walks Into a Bar,” which Tyler Farr made into a hit and Kenny Chesney’s “Save It for a Rainy Day.”
While they were churning out hit songs for others, “we managed somehow over a decade to make things happen,” said Ramsey, frontman for Old Dominion. “The band worked hard, so here we are.”
And that work effort seemed to be appreciated at The Chelsea show Friday.
Flanked on each side of the stage with video boards overhead, and with a larger video screen behind them, the band cranked through a set of more than 20 songs during their 90-plus minutes onstage.
Included in the set were “All I Know About Girls,” “Don’t Forget Me,” off their fourth and latest album, “Time, Tequila & Therapy,” which the band wrote and recorded earlier this year in Asheville, N.C.
The lead single for the new album, “I Was on a Boat That Day,” and its accompanying video energized the crowd with its carefree tales of a relationship that may, or may not, have gone wrong.
“Is she gone for the summer, gone for the night?
“Gone for the weekend or the rest of my life?
“Was she laughing, was she crying
“As she walked away?
“I can’t say
“I was on a boat that day.”
Ramsey, lead singer and center of attention, was a force the entire night, moving from side to side of the stage, playing to the crowd and often playing with one of his bandmates. Tursi was stellar on the guitar, especially on “Can’t Get You.” Rosen showed off his musical chops on a variety of instruments, including the standup piano, acoustic guitar and accordion. Rounding out the band are Whit Sellers on drums and Geoff Sprung on the bass guitar.
Ramsey, at the end of Friday night’s concert, urged fans to show up again for Saturday’s show. “Let’s do this again tomorrow, alright?” The way Old Dominion entertained Friday, it was a no-brainer for many to take him up on his plea.