Take nearly 2,000 screaming girls, add one good looking 32-year-old guy with a voice that was, frankly, much better live than you’d expect and what do you get? A great night out at the Riverside Theater Downtown on Friday.
Nick Lachey, on tour in support of his latest album, gave the crowd what they expected. With a life stripped from the pages of nearly every entertainment magazine, Lachey wore his heart on his sleeve with his music summarizing the past year of his life. He sang with conviction and emotion opening with “Outside” from his CD “What’s Left of Me.”
He played to his female fans using the solo love ballad, “Slave,” targeted to a single audience member. The performance not only had the young girl in tears, but it had the whole theater screaming.
He brought back his 98 degrees hit “The Hardest Part” with the entire audience singing along. He also did a rendition of the Led Zeppelin tune “Ramble On”.
Lachey connected with the crowd when he spoke of his loyalty to Miller (Miller Lite, actually). And since the Brewers were playing one of his team’s (The Reds) biggest rivals, he said that we was rooting for the Brewers to beat the Cardinals. This, of course, brought more cheers. Lachey's band had a local connection, too. Milwaukee-native Al Berry was on bass guitar, while Robbie Gennet (rhythm guitar), Kris Pooley (keyboards), Pathik Desai (lead guitar), and Derek Wyatt (drums) rounded out the rest of the band.
He had his committed fans in an uproar when, half way through the show, he promised to find love again. You know his story, he’s divorced and ready to move on, way past Jessica Simpson. His encore told of where his life will be leading him. He finished with “Resolution” and his first top single, “What’s left of Me”.
Yes, we were 34-year-old women screaming for Nick. We have the sore throats today to prove it. But in all honesty, Lachey has talent. He can sing and he can work the room. Lachey cannot bring “sexy back,” but he has 98 degrees of sexiness (especially without Jessica). He is a low glam performer that connects with his audience with songs of love and relationships.
Two openers preceded Lachey: Dirtie Blonde and Joanna. Joanna --who was cute, sassy and had a strong, sexy voice -- was the better of the two. She’s on the road as well, in support of her debut release, "This Crazy Life."
Nick Lachey, on tour in support of his latest album, gave the crowd what they expected. With a life stripped from the pages of nearly every entertainment magazine, Lachey wore his heart on his sleeve with his music summarizing the past year of his life. He sang with conviction and emotion opening with “Outside” from his CD “What’s Left of Me.”
He played to his female fans using the solo love ballad, “Slave,” targeted to a single audience member. The performance not only had the young girl in tears, but it had the whole theater screaming.
He brought back his 98 degrees hit “The Hardest Part” with the entire audience singing along. He also did a rendition of the Led Zeppelin tune “Ramble On”.
Lachey connected with the crowd when he spoke of his loyalty to Miller (Miller Lite, actually). And since the Brewers were playing one of his team’s (The Reds) biggest rivals, he said that we was rooting for the Brewers to beat the Cardinals. This, of course, brought more cheers. Lachey's band had a local connection, too. Milwaukee-native Al Berry was on bass guitar, while Robbie Gennet (rhythm guitar), Kris Pooley (keyboards), Pathik Desai (lead guitar), and Derek Wyatt (drums) rounded out the rest of the band.
He had his committed fans in an uproar when, half way through the show, he promised to find love again. You know his story, he’s divorced and ready to move on, way past Jessica Simpson. His encore told of where his life will be leading him. He finished with “Resolution” and his first top single, “What’s left of Me”.
Yes, we were 34-year-old women screaming for Nick. We have the sore throats today to prove it. But in all honesty, Lachey has talent. He can sing and he can work the room. Lachey cannot bring “sexy back,” but he has 98 degrees of sexiness (especially without Jessica). He is a low glam performer that connects with his audience with songs of love and relationships.
Two openers preceded Lachey: Dirtie Blonde and Joanna. Joanna --who was cute, sassy and had a strong, sexy voice -- was the better of the two. She’s on the road as well, in support of her debut release, "This Crazy Life."
