Monday, October 01, 2007

By DONNIE MOORHOUSE
Music writer


WEST SPRINGFIELD - There is something about the last show at the fair that signals a finality to summer.

While the change of seasons was officially ushered in more than a week ago, Taylor Hicks' show at the Big E on Saturday night was an even more definitive goodbye-to-summer moment.

The air turned a little cooler; the night seemed a little longer.

Hicks closed out the live music portion of the fair with a 75 minute set in front of his legion of fans, dubbed the Soul Patrol, who filled the folded chairs and bleachers of the Comcast Arena.

The Big E is getting some mileage out of television's "American Idol" beauty contest.

Along with Hicks and Chris Daughtry, who also performed this year, the fair has played host to Idol contestants Clay Aiken and Carrie Underwood.

Hicks has aptly named his fan club, given that he leans toward a soul and R&B presentation when recording and performing. He literally jumped on stage to open the show, landing as if on a balance beam with his arms stretched open wide and his band jamming to the funk-lite opener "Give Me Tonight."

He stayed in dance-soul-mode for "Heart and Soul" before his first ballad of the night, the lead single off his album "Just to Feel That Way."

Hicks may make his mark in the business as a song interpreter, covering classic compositions rather than writing original tunes. He gave an ample sampling in this set with a handful of covers including Traffic's "Medicated Goo."

The still young, gray-haired singer used rolling piano lines and played a little bit of harmonica on the up-tempo "My Friend," followed by a too-fast paced version of Rod Stewart's "Young Turks."

There was a slight lull during another original, "The Deal," but Hicks and his band picked it up again with a swinging, horn-fueled "Gonna Move," which could fit nicely into Southside Johnny's style of Asbury Park R&B.

Hicks paid tribute to Ray Charles with hints of the legend's "What'd I Say," tucked inside "Heaven Knows." He played harmonica again on "The Right Place," and closed the set with "Runaround."

Hicks returned to encore with a sound version of The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin.'"