COUNTRY REVIEW

Alan Jackson's shows change so little from year to year that they almost qualify as predictable, which is not a drawback given that they are predictably good. Thursday, the proficient hit-maker opened a two-night stand in Uncasville at a Mohegan Sun Arena that was only two-thirds full with a show that was not the best he has given in the room, but still ranked among the highest quality country music around.

Jackson's stage demeanor was as assured and understated as ever, but he seemed slightly off the mark as he strummed his acoustic guitar and led with "Gone Country." He kept time with the speedy, pedal steel guitar-filled romp "I Don't Even Know Your Name" and exuded easy charm as he sidled up to the twin fiddles of "Livin' On Love," but the presentation behind him was sporadic on large video screens that cut out many times throughout his show.

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Jackson's warm singing voice was effective when he used it to butter up an assortment of ballads, especially the evocative "Remember When." He loaded the Hank Williams Jr. tune "The Blues Man" with more bittersweet nostalgia, but was equally effective as smoke filled the stage.

He stuck to familiar ground, whether offering the rippling twang of "Don't Rock the Jukebox" or serving up the toe-tapping chug of "Pop a Top." His nine-man band was tight as it backed him with a spine of three acoustic guitars on "Drive" and its backdrop to "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" was effectively sober. Unlike many artists who have long lists of hits (he has 31 chart topping singles), Jackson has never been one for exhaustively long shows, but his Thursday set was notably brief at 17 songs over 70 minutes. He closed with the vigorous favorite "Where I Come From" and, much to the surprise of the audience, did not return for an encore.

Second billed Sara Evans played to the strengths of her pop-leaning style in a smooth 45-minute set. Her look and sound have become increasingly manicured as her star has ascended, but lively personality has been a constant in her singing throughout her career. Her voice made for a bright centerpiece to the hook-heavy country of her opener, "Perfect," and its sound was sharp enough to compete with the considerable down-home energy her six-piece band poured into "Suds in the Bucket."

Her style was so focused on sheen that she had a difficult time finding a place within tunes more suited to a ragged approach - too crisp to evoke the raw-edged sentiment of "Momma's Night Out" and too refined to sell the lascivious theme at the core of the fiddle-and-mandolin-trimmed "Coalmine."