REVIEW: Pierce Arrow Show

[LocalYokel]

1/2 / 5

Highs: Pierce Arrow, Jarrett
Lows: Desta, "Tribute To Movies"

Well, my wife's sister and her pre-teen kids were in town over the weekend, and they had heard about Noah and were excited to see it (as were we). Upon arrival at the theater, however, we were disappointed to find out that the show is on a break for a while - so we decided to find an alternative. Driving up Shepherd of the Hills, we settled on Pierce Arrow. I hadn't seen the show for several years and remembered enjoying it in the past, so we decided to give it a shot. Well, what started out as a disappointment (due to Noah being closed) ended up being a fun evening.

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was the new staging - this was a huge, huge upgrade from the last time I saw the show, so I was pleasantly surprised. I'm into that stuff, so it caught my attention.

The show started out with a comedy routine - it occurred to me that I had never seen Jarrett Dourety (sp?) perform, and boy, was he a pleasant surprise. I had last seen the show with Paul Harris (who I think is terrific) but I was happy that they found such a great replacement. My only critique... some of the routines seemed to ramble on a bit too long.

Then Pierce Arrow appeared - and they are noticeably different than when I saw them several years ago. Gary and Dan were the only members of the group that I had seen several years back, and they were as good as I remember. (Dan only did a few of the songs, though.... they said he's the producer, so maybe he's slowing down a bit). The new members were younger, and all very talented. (My wife, her sister, and neices were quick to point out how handsome they are as well). The thing I really liked about the group is that they seemed cohesive - the comraderie was apparent. All members seemed like pros.

Standout performances go to.... Casey for "Water Grave." Wow. It was a real knockout. Jarrett for the old-time preacher & "Harry Pitts", an old man. My sides still hurt from laughing. The group did a very high-energy gospel section that we really liked (it had the crowd going). The acapella number towards the end of the show was very good - Cole did a great solo on that one.

I don't want to be rude... Desta just didn't do it for us. She's cutesy, but we couldn't understand her words, and she just doesn't sing good enough to be a featured artist (in my opinion).

Also, the movie section of the show just didn't really make sense to me. It didn't seem to fit, and it just moved kinda slow.

Otherwise, Kim was as great as I remember. The band was good - not spectacular, just good (it's only 4 pieces now). Bobby, their band director, is very talented though. He played many different instruments and I saw him singing backup several times too.

The show ended up with a cool finale... I liked it because it was patriotic, but not overbearingly so, and for once, a Branson show didn't end with "God Bless the USA!" Gary read a very moving letter and the group sang a song (I didn't recognize) that was mixed in with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".

All in all, a very good time. I'd recommend it!





A note about my reviews: I enjoy writing an honest, balanced review. You will probably never hear me say (even in a 5/5 review) that everything was perfect. My intention is never to offend anyone or to pick on a particular individual, just to give an honest review in my opinion. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

[nannac]

I enjoyed reading your reveiw. We saw this show in July, and loved the commedian. I haven't laughed that much in years! The PA group is really good also, but loved the commedian best.

[ThunderHockeyFan]

Great review! We are going in October for our 2nd visit to the show.

[Daytimer]

Thanks for the review!

[bransoncutie]

Thanks for the review. Haven't seen the show in a couple of years. Casey Ellison is one of the best parts of the show as far as I'm concerned. And Jarrett's "Brother Cecil Watkins" is a hoot!