Vince Gill                                                                      

Sept. 27, Emens Auditorium, Muncie, Ind.

Early in his show this past Saturday night, Vince Gill talked about his admiration for the way that legendary guitarist Chet Atkins played the guitar seemingly without any effort. It’s a compliment that Gill himself definitely deserves. Throughout the show, Gill masterfully played a variety of guitars and a mandolin, in a manner that made it seem so easy.

During the two-and-a-half hour show, Gill interspersed the music with stories behind some of the songs:  how he spent money meant for his college education on a guitar that Gill has to this day (“This Old Guitar”); Gill’s first meeting with wife Amy Grant and how her smile was an inspiration for a song (“Whenever You Come Around”); and his belief that a song he wrote after the death of his brother will probably be his most-remembered one (“Go Rest High On That Mountain”).

Some stories were comical, others melancholy, some both: Gill recalled the song that his father had suggested he write, and how he regretted not getting it done before his father passed away. Gill joked that when he finished the song — “It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chewed Your Ass Out All Day Long” — it received a lukewarm review from his wife and his mother.

Quite simply, this concert could have been titled “An Intimate Evening with Vince Gill and His Friends”, because that’s exactly what it was for Gill and his friends — the band and the audience.