Review: Jackson, McBride make sweet music for sold-out GEC
crowd
LARRY MCCORMACK /
STAFF It was she-sang, he-sang last night when superstars Alan Jackson
and Martina McBride wrapped up their 30-city tour last night at Gaylord Entertainment Center. Jackson, the reigning Country Music Association male vocalist
of the year, had the crowd roaring.
LARRY
MCCORMACK / STAFF
Martina McBride delighted the Gaylord Entertainment Center crowd as she helped Alan Jackson wrap up a 30-city tour.
For a man who likes to remind the world Don’t Rock The Jukebox,
Alan Jackson is unafraid to waive the hip-hop flag when it suits him.
Or when his daughters dare him, take your pick.
In the middle of his hit cover of Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues
during his concert Saturday night at the Gaylord Entertainment Center,
Jackson noted that carting around three daughters exposes him to a lot of
different styles of music, and then broke out the most countrified few bars
of OutKast’s Hey Ya! you’ll ever hear, replete with the catchphrases
of " Shake it like a Polaroid picture " and " All right, all
right, all right, all right " from the song.
The members of sold-out crowd ate it up, much like they did everything Jackson and co-headliner Martina McBride fed them last night. The Country Music
Association’s reigning Vocalists of the Year, Jackson and McBride offered
similar yet distinct approaches to delivering songs from their hit-filled
careers.
McBride kicked off her 70-minute set with It’s My Time from her
1999 release Emotion, before settling into a singles-minded groove with Wild
Angels, Just The Way That I Am and Happy Girl. Clad
simply in a black cap-sleeved shirt and jeans, McBride let her much-honored
voice be the focal point of the show, although the set was taut to the
point of feeling rushed, what with 17 full songs presented in the short
time span.
A handful of contest winners joined McBride on stage to sing backup on
her hit This One’s For The Girls before jetting into
back-to-back-to-back belters Whatever You Say, A Broken Wing
and Independence Day to end the set. McBride came back out for a
one-song encore of Harper Valley P.T.A., a little bit of an odd
choice considering there were several of her own hits that remained unsung.
Jackson’s everyday man persona showed through from the beginning of his
portion of the show, with his sleepy Georgia drawl asking the crowd how
they were doing just after amping them up with his opener, Gone Country.
Jackson’s set was a perfectly paced, multi-sensory experience with expertly
crafted video packages complementing his simple songs, including I Don’t
Even Know Your Name, Livin’ On Love, Little Man, 5
O’Clock Somewhere, snippets of early hits such as Chasin’ That Neon
Rainbow and Here In The Real World, and a new composition, Too
Much Of A Good Thing.
McBride joined Jackson for a rendition of Jackson’s Let’s Get Back To
Me And You, and settled the crowd back down into a more reverent mood
for his September 11 homage Where Were You (When The World Stopped
Turning). Capping his main set with the hits Chattahoochee and Where
I Come From, complete with a video package of familiar Nashville
landmarks, Jackson showed once again why people connect with his easygoing
personality and tremendous voice.
But don’t worry, fans. Chances are almost nil he’ll name his next studio
album Speakerboxxx or The Love Below. Those names are already taken.
