Friday night at the Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek, he was still wearing a hat, but he proved himself more than capable of holding a crowd without special effects or the faux rock sound that has infected so much of country music. Instead, he played his hits quietly and at times more slowly than in their radio-friendly recorded versions. His pleasant demeanor made it easy for fans to get through the unseasonably cold night.

With classics such as "Don't Rock the Jukebox" and "Gone Country," plus new material including "Monday Morning Church" and "Too Much of a Good Thing," Jackson showed his ability to excel at any sub-genre of country, from drinking songs to spirituals.

One of his specialties is the "life cycle" song, in which a character is born, falls in love, has children, grows old and watches his grandchildren start the cycle again. He played several of these, including "Livin' on Love," "Drive" and "Remember When."

He used old photographs, projected on two large side-screens and three screens above the stage, to show how these stories - particularly "Drive," which was written in memory of his father - connect to his own life as well the lives of fans. But the night's most poignant moment came during "What I Do," the title track of his latest album. With the side-screens off, he stood in the spotlight and listed things he had done in to get by before he found success. "Some people would give anything to do what I do," he sang at the end, before the screens turned back on to show him pointing at the audience. Then the camera swept over the crowd to express his thanks for the fans.

From there, Jackson showed the real reason he has stayed famous. Even though he's as country as they come in Nashville nowadays, he's willing to try something different if he wants a hit.

"That's kind of sad," he said, commenting on the tune he had just sung.

"I'm too sappy, y'all. What time is it?"

With that question, he ripped into "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," a drinking song that gave Jimmy Buffett his first No. 1 country hit and sparked a beach-music craze in Nashville.

Jackson closed with "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," still the best song written about 9/11, and lighters flickered and cell phones shined as Jackson sang a song that's still affecting years later.

But that wouldn't be the end. In the encore Jackson went back to more upbeat tunes, "Chattahoochee" and "Where I Come From."

Opener Sara Evans, who has had a handful of hits herself, began her set weakly, but once she admitted the obvious, telling the crowd "I'm tired" after having two children in less than two years while keeping up a recording and tour schedule, things picked up. With mid-tempo narratives such as "Suds in the Bucket" and "Born to Fly," Evans carries on the themes of country music, even if her music is bit more rock 'n' roll than country.

Jackson himself has said he doesn't know if he would have made it in Nashville today with his classic country. But the Raleigh show proved that Jackson, one of country's best songwriters, will find a way to win fans for years to come, no matter how country changes.

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