On Saturday night, Spur 503 helped locals and students alike dance the night away at the Drunken Mule. Spur 503 has some obvious roots in old school country but doesn’t shun influences from the rock genre either. This band is considered “Texas country” or southern rock country.
Band members included Chance Cody (lead vocals), Adam Doty (back up vocals and drums), Jason “Fuzzy” Smith (bass and back up vocals), Shannon Carpenter (back up vocals/lead guitar) and Eric Peel (Fiddle, Mandolin).
Even with a sore throat, Cody sang all night and gave the fans and dancers something great to listen to.
The guys in the band are excellent musicians and did not skip a beat or note throughout the entire night. When Cody’s voice did start to wobble the guys in the band picked up the slack and covered for him having Carpenter and Peel solo and Doty sing a few songs.
The band played original tunes like “Ain’t Living Long,” “I’m Ready,” “Cowboy Blues,” and “Don’t Know Where I’m At.” They also played covers like “I’ve Been Everywhere,” “Folsom Prison,” and “Amarillo by Morning.”
Spur 503 has an excellent upbeat repertoire with some slow tunes thrown in. This is the perfect band to cause beer drinkin’, two-steppin’ fun, which is exactly what they did. The crowd was a perfect mix of good ole country boys and Texas beauties ready to dance the night away.
However, there are some pointers I can give this band to make their show better. In the world of show business it doesn’t matter how great you sound – well it does unless your Ashley Simpson – but there are other things that count as well. I have said it before and I will say it again: You must have stage presence.
Spur 503 is amazing musically, but when it comes to the art of giving the audience something physically to look at, the only interesting member of the band is the fiddle player. Peel had an energy up on the stage that made him fun to watch. His facial expressions and dancing made him exciting and eye-catching. Peel was joined at one point by Smith who danced and had some fun himself, but then went back to standing.
The point is to have fun onstage. Standing in one place for two hours is not anyone’s idea of fun, nor is it fun to look at when you go see a band play. The members of Spur 503 should take a page out of Peel’s book and follow his lead to give audience members something interesting to look at.
Other than that concern, the night was great. Between the rhinestone belts, the big hair, the cowboy hats, and a packed dance floor it was an interesting night in East Texas.