The Long Island country fans came out in droves last night to see Eric Paslay perform at Mulchay’s Pub & Concert Hall. The small venue was packed from wall to wall with fans old and young, primed and ready for a Sunday night country show. Paslay took the stage wearing his signature brown trucker hat, and, of course, cowboy boots. Opening his 90 minute set with “Song About a Girl,” the third single released from his self titled debut album, he then transitioned into his first single “Never Really Wanted,” mashing it up with a slow sultry cover of Chris Issak’s “Wicked Game.” He also sang his first number one song, the Jake Owen classic, “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” to which the crowd sang every word.
For the first half of the set, Paslay remained relatively stationary behind the microphone switching between electric and acoustic guitars; however, about halfway through the night he ditched the guitars to do an extremely lively cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” In his own signature way, Paslay danced around the stage, sometimes even throwing in jazz hands here and there. The crowd was so receptive to his fancy feet and jumped and danced right along with him.
Alternating between slower hits like “She Don’t Love You” and “Countryside Of Heaven” and more upbeat dance songs like Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and his newest single, “High Class,” the set list proved that Paslay is as versatile as he is fun to watch.
Paslay closed his set with his catchy “Friday Night” as the audience clapped along. His casual coolness and strong vocals made for quite an evening. His highly anticipated sophomore album Dressed in Black is expected to be released later this summer.
Paslay hits up Chicago’s famous Joe’s Bar this weekend and then continues playing shows and festivals throughout the summer.