September 29, 2007 Daughtry Agganis Arena Boston, MA

Chris Daughtry was a massive upgrade in showmanship over Mat Kearney. He was a force on stage, sexy and personable all at once, riveting to take in. There is no way to understate how much of a turn-on his performance was, all the way up the last song. He engaged the audience to sing with him, it worked better on the new single Over You than earlier in the set. But if nothing else, it proved that Chris Daughtry, the almost-American Idol, was no fluke. His stage presence and soulful hard rock was custom-tailored for mainstream.

Daughtry mixed some radio-friendly tunes It’s Not Over and Home over the course of the set, and added in a fine cover of Alice in Chains Nutshell. What About Now proved even their balladry was impressive. During Nutshell, and the set closing There and Back Again, Daughtry left the stage to send the attention to the rest of the band. Overall, from the lighting to the simple red curtains in the backset, everything about this forty-five minute performance worked.

Except…the only downside was a painfully extended version of There and Back Again that seared your ears. But it came at the end of the set, and keep this in perspective: who needs to hear when you can’t take your eyes of Daughtry?