Alan Jackson admitted there would be no great surprises at his
Friday night show at Sound Advice Amphitheatre. No big emphasis on
songs from his new album, What I Do. No time spent delving
into forgotten musical gems from his past.
Instead, this evening would be about staying on familiar ground.
"Have a drink or dance or do whatever you've been doing," Jackson
told the crowd of 13,000-plus.
Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post
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Alan Jackson invited the 13,000 fans at the
Sound Advice Amphitheatre Friday to 'have a drink or dance or
do whatever you've been doing.' He played many popular songs
and even a Hank Williams tune. |
It's a tribute to Jackson, however, that his shows are never rote
efforts. Perhaps that's because while Jackson may be a country
artist, he's a songwriter first and foremost. And his tunes, though
written with a mainstream sensibility, are lively, telling and
truthful all at the same time. He doesn't buy into country cliches:
He tells stories.
Stories like Gone Country, the fun — and funny — account
of Nashville-as-fashion statement that Jackson used to open his
relaxed set. He turned up the heat just a bit at times: Don't
Rock the Jukebox, I Don't Even Know Your Name, even a
solid cover of Hank Williams Hey Good Lookin' were among his
uptempo offerings. But he was arguably at his strongest when he was
in his most confessional mode: A song like Remember When
showed how Jackson, with his strong, clear voice, can always
distinguish the fine line between sentiment and sentimental.
Not that he couldn't put his party hat on. At the midway point,
Jackson served up his hit from not so long ago, It's Five O'Clock
Somewhere, the best Jimmy Buffett song that Jimmy Buffett never
wrote. (That's OK, since Buffett is actually a character in the
song.) And Jackson, who has a house locally, properly acknowledged
the song was inspired by a Jupiter bar.
If Jackson's time on stage was all about keeping things on an
even keel, Martina McBride's opening set was about pushing hard.
Make that too hard. There's no denying that McBride has one of the
better voices in country music — a deeply declarative instrument
with a rock 'n' roll kick — but she doesn't know when to ease off
the gas. And her material is far too big and bland to truly capture
an audience.
Worse yet, McBride decided to favor the audience with her
less-than-subtle version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. But
she fared better when she attempted Pat Benatar's Hit Me with
Your Best Shot — a song that easily fit within her more-is-more
aesthetic.
