Chris Knight: Show Report

Last month, we featured a sold-out show with Chris Knight. When concert-goer Jim Moskalewic​z agreed to offer his take on the evening, we happily obliged. Without further ado...

Hailing from a small town in northern Kentucky, Chris Knight brought his gritty style of country music to the Uptown Playlist Theater in LaSalle, IL, on Friday, April 12. Uptown's back room provided its renowned, intimate setting for the sold-out show, and the Chris Knight-faithful were treated to a perfect mix of old and new songs. The two-set performance included classics such as Becky's Bible, It Ain't Easy Being Me, Framed, and Down the River mixed with newer tunes such as Little Victories, In the Meantime, Out of This Hole, and Low Down Ramblin' Blues.

The power of Knight's music emanated from both his quartet and his lyrics, which, although grounded in a hardscrabble life, were laced with a resilient hope:

• "I'm digging myself out of this hole, they say it can't be done, but what do they know"
• "I've got dreams that will come true"
• "People have to come together...we all have to live as one"
• "When you're so afraid to be alone. I'll be right here"
• "God'll be good to you son, if you try"

These lyrical snippets confirm that Chris Knight's poetry transcends his dark-edged reputation.

Chris Knight and his band delivered their music with integrity and passion. At the conclusion of the second set, the crowd enthusiastically rose to its feet, in demand of an encore. The front-row faithful requested the song Dirt, and in closing the show, Knight, in subtle irony, delivered it to them clean and pure.