Jackson's country charm lights up the stage
By HELEN
HUNTLEY, Times Personal Finance Editor
Published December
4, 2005
TAMPA - Alan Jackson's old-fashioned country vocals, some
smashing newfangled video and a great band made a perfect
concert combination Saturday night.
The straight-up singing is what Jackson's fans come to see,
and that's what he delivered at the Ford Amphitheatre. Like
George Strait, he's a stand-in-one spot guy who strums his
guitar and sings his heart out. Leave the theatrics to
others.
Saturday night he showed up in white cowboy hat, boots and
ripped jeans. With his warm voice, endearing aw-shucks
shyness, he came across as the friendly guy down the street
who just happens to have a wheelbarrow full of hit songs.
With so many big hits to choose from, Jackson easily mixed
up the pace for the crowd of 10,000. He had them dancing to
the beat of Gone Country and Don't Rock the Juke
Box and then settling in for the slower pace of Too
Much of a Good Thing and When Somebody Loves You
.
Jackson used a simple stage setting with an elaborate
backdrop of video screens - three large and 16 small to
augment the amphitheater's own screens. There was Jackson
water skiing to Chattahoochee, slowdancing with wife,
Denise, to the sentimental Remember When and singing
along with Jimmy Buffett for the smash hit It's Five
O'Clock Somewhere .
While most of the footage came from his music videos, there
were some new shots - including familiar Tampa scenes to go
along with Where I Come From .
The emotional high point was Jackson's delivery of Where
Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) , the song he
wrote after Sept. 11. The video screens showed candles and
many in the audience held up lighter flames. Singing about
those events and the way they taught us to treasure our loved
ones, Jackson projects sincerity and a boyish (for a
46-year-old) vulnerability."
Lee Ann Womack struggled through her nine-song set,
apologizing for her voice and saying it was the first time she
ever performed sick. Maybe all that excitement over winning
three Country Music Association Awards last month caught up
with her. The audience helped out, singing along with this
year's award-winning single I May Hate Myself In the
Morning and her smash hit of five years ago I Hope You
Dance. Womack substituted for Sara Evans, who had a
conflict when the show date was rescheduled.
Apparently the singing gene runs through Jackson's extended
family. The opening act was a country duo consisting of
Jackson's nephew, Adam Wright, and Adam's wife, Shannon. They
have a new debut album, Down this Road , and have
written some creative songs, including two for Jackson's
latest album.
[Last modified December
4, 2005, 01:18:20]
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