JAGGPRO MCCANN "Making It His Own"

by jenny heying

I've been meaning to check out Jaggpro McCann for some time now and I finally caught up to him at the TCH Yacht & Golf Club. A small but appreciative crowd warmed up to Jaggpro as he opened his show with It Ain't Me Babe. Was I impressed? Well, he did have quite a reputation to live up to as I had heard much about him prior to this, but yes I was. He lived up to the advance billing for sure.

His voice is deep, which I know a lot of the women will find sexy, but it's deep in a way that everyone can appreciate. It's manly but it's sweet. Now Jaggpro gets my attention because he followed up with one of my favorite artists, Warren Zevon. Anyone that covers Warren Zevon gets five stars from me. His version of Frank and Jesse James would have made Warren proud. But aside from that Jaggpro is a great singer and musician. He accompanies himself on acoustic guitar and plays with authority. Most noticeable was a strong guitar performance on Poor Poor Pitiful Me (another Zevon Classic).

Other than Zevon, Jaggpro still creates a frenzy. Too memorable was a version of Hotel California that made my light shimmer. His Aussie accent made it a touch more unique. His voice resonates and he catches your attention. On Gold, he plays his guitar with authority. It's hard to tell whether you listen more to the guitar or his voice. It's probably both. Jaggpro gives you something to listen to, guitar and vocals. His guitar is awesome and he can hold his own with the best of them. His voice is truly his piece of gold. He can handle warm tender ballads and falls evenly into more upbeat tunes like Gone, Gone, Gone. Dear Prudence shows that Jaggpro is definitely capable of anything. He handled that song quite well and gave me a goose bump or two.

Mr. McCann crosses the genre lines a lot during his show. Eventually that led to a country song and while I'm not a big country fan, he seemed to make it fit. I kind of liked his version of Four Walls Around Me.

With the crossovers and changes in pace, his true talent gets a little lost. But he brings it back to the forefront covering Steve Miller's Jet Airliner and a stepped up version of Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way.

What is definitely the most exciting part of Jaggpro McCann is that anything he covers he makes completely his own. Yes you recognize the song, but he puts a McCann stamp on it and you will remember it. And just when you think you are done being wowed, he throws out a self-penned tune. A somewhat romantic, somewhat ewwwww, ballad called Never Been With You. His talent as a songwriter matches his talent on vocals and guitar.

He wrapped up his show with Clapton's Old Love, Dire Straits Walk Of Life, Got A Lot On My Mind, Make My Dreams Come True and finishing with an incredible song "Dolphin Dreams".

He's been around Second Life ™ since 2006 but every indication is that he hasn't lost a beat and in fact is moving way ahead in terms of second life performers. Okay and when he speaks he does sound a lot like Russel Crowe. Don't hold that against him.