Bice expected to be large BSD draw

By BOB SAAR

for The Hawk Eye

Tonight will be one of the most interesting in Steamboat Days history.

Headliner Bo Bice was a runner–up on the wildly popular television talent show "American Idol" and is one of the few contestants who managed to keep a high–profile celebrity status post–Idol.

Bice, a young rocker from Alabama, is somewhat of a throwback to the good old days of Mussel Shoals when the Allman Brothers and their cohorts ruled the radiowaves.

"I actually think he's kind of cool because he's retro," singer/songwriter Jamie Reno of San Diego, Calif. said. "He's sort of old school southern rock."

Bice is a hard act to follow simply because he doesn't have much exposure beyond the realm of TV, and so any musings as to his live–show power are simply guesses.

We're guessing that tonight's show will be a blast, simply because the audience wants to love Bo in person as much as they loved him on American Idol.

People are swarming from around the country just for Bice, because the man isn't really on tour; he's got gigs but not a touring schedule.

A busload of Canadians is on its way across the border.

"As you can imagine, things in Bo's world get very hectic," Bice's site says.

We almost lost Bice when he rescheduled New York shows in Poughkeepsie and Albany so that he could fly to LA for the taping of yet another American Idol special.

Bice was raised in the south by his song–singing, instrument–playing, music–worshiping parents. His father played guitar, banjo and mandolin; his mother and her three cousins were in a group called the Singing Jays, and his mom even sang at the Grand Ole Opry

Bice's first album, "The Real Thing," was produced by music legend Clive Davis.

Bice said on his Web site that after years of fantasizing about success in the music industry, finally achieving it is incredibly gratifying and humbling.

"I never set out to be somebody on TV but I hope that I'm able to continue to do things on TV, you know, without becoming an actor," he said. "I want to do little silly things. Something that's relevant, something that I can enjoy."

A dose of Steamboat Days ought to qualify as relevant.

Bice did not fit the generic American Idol mold, but his version of The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post" wowed the judges and he stayed on, losing to Carrie Underwood last year.

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