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"Damn Milwaukee! It’s gonna be one of the funnest nights we’ve had in a long time," Chase Rice shouted to the standing room only crowd packed into the Uline Warehouse area on Saturday night.

And holy hell, it was. Fun, that is.

It wasn’t that I was not a fan of Rice’s before Saturday night. I’d say I was just more ambivalent about his music than anything else.

But then, I’d only ever heard him on country radio. His music isn’t necessarily true to the genre and that causes somewhat of a disconnect between expectations (listening to country radio for country music) and the product (Rice’s genre-busting music).

What I learned at Rice’s concert is that you can’t judge an artist by the genre of the station playing his music. During Saturday night’s concert, he blew my cowboy boots off. Metaphorically, of course.

For an hour and a half, Rice plowed through every song with the intensity and energy of a seasoned pro. Hitting the best songs of his career to date, including "How She Rolls," "Gonna Wanna Tonight," "Cruise," and "We Goin’ Out." He pulled out some classic covers, as well – like "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks, including the infamous fourth verse. 

He did plenty of tailoring to the location – although it seemed just a bit forced (anyone can give a shout out to Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Summerfest), but the crowd seemed to love it. Even when you couldn’t really hear what Rice was saying, all he had to finish with was, " ... Milwaukee!" or " … Wisconsin!" or " ... Summerfest!" and the crowd went nuts.

It wouldn’t be a complete review if I didn’t describe the crowd a little more. When I got there (early), it was already standing room only. By far I was the oldest one there (until a high school English teacher and her husband found their way to my corner), which wasn’t a bad thing. The crowd of mostly 20-somethings was decidedly intoxicated and pot wafted through the air … a lot.

But they loved Rice, and their enthusiasm made the show entertaining. Rice even gave them props telling them that the noise they made was "the loudest sh*t we heard all summer."

One of the most genuine parts of the night came with Rice’s song "Ride." It’s a slower song – a sort of romantic, in the country sort of way, song. He pulled a girl out of the crowd as if he was going to serenade her. She was probably a little tipsy because Rice couldn’t figure out at first whether the guy she’d been standing next to was or was not her boyfriend.

He wasn’t.

She’d met him that night. And she kept talking about her best friend who was also with her. Rice finally concluded that the girl on stage, the boy in the crowd and the best friend "may be into some freaky sh*t later" and that if they, "keep drinking, it’s gonna get weird."

With that, he brought the house down.

Not bad for a kid whose unusual rise up the country charts has been of his own making. Literally.

After graduating from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a double degree in management and communication, Rice was passed over by every NFL team (he played linebacker in college). From UNC, Rice joined NASCAR as part of Ryan Newman’s pit crew. Finding no real satisfaction in that, Rice auditioned for "Survivor: Nicaragua" and was one of the final three vying for the title of sole survivor. He lost in the closest vote in "Survivor" history.

Next, he moved to Music City to live his passion: music.

Unable to find a label to represent him, Rice placed the biggest bet on his career any artist (country or otherwise) could make. He struck out on his own quietly releasing his first studio album "Friday Nights and Sunday Mornings" without label representation.

The nontraditional gamble paid off. Big time.

Since his 2010 debut, Chase Rice’s career continues to be anything but traditional. Without a radio hit of any kind, he started to sell out multiple House of Blues locations. Then in 2012, Rice, along with Florida Georgia line artist Brian Kelley and songwriter Jesse Rice, co-wrote the accidental, record-breaking, chart-buster "Cruise."

After that, there was no stopping Rice whose underground music is a mix of modern country infused with rock, electronica and rap elements. Here and there, you hear hints of Alan Jackson, Tom Petty and even a little Tracy Byrd.

But it’s one hundred percent Rice's own style-branded music. Whether you like it or not, you still have to respect the kid’s guts.

After Saturday night’s performance, I definitely do.

Setlist:

Do It Like This
50 Shades of Crazy
I like Drinking Cuz It’s Fun
We Goin’ Out
U Turn
Medley/Mash Up
Smoke a Little Smoke (Eric Church cover)
Pour Some Sugar on Me (Def Leppard cover)
Dust on the Bottle (David Lee Murphy cover)
Livin’ on a Prayer (Bon Jovi cover)
Free Falling (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers cover)
Carolina Can
Gonna Wanna Tonight
Jack Daniel’s Jesus
The Dance (Garth Brooks cover)
Ride
How She Rolls
Cruise
Medley/ Mash Up and Intros
She Hates Me (Puddle of Mudd cover)
What’s My Age Again (Blink 182 cover)
Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks cover)
(Drummer solo)

Encore
Ready Set Roll

Encore 2
Band – No vocals