Published: May 16, 2005 11:40 AM
Alan
Jackson (bio | music
| posters
& photos) may be the strong, silent type, but he
delivered a solid vocal punch during his Sunday performance
(5/17) at Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix. He said little to the
audience during his 90-minute performance, and instead focused
on the music of his successful career.
Contrary to his
modest nature on stage, his show kicked off in a
self-aggrandizing fashion. A video celebrated and listed his
successes, including 31 No. 1 hits and 100 major industry
awards. Various country stars were seen announcing Jackson as
the winner of several awards.
As his band, The Strayhorns, began "Gone Country," Jackson
shelled out a simple, "How y'all doing tonight?" The crowd ate
it up. Five video screens lit up the stage as he joined The
Strayhorns in "Gone Country."
Jackson invited the audience to "drink, dance and whatever"
as he peppered the crowd with hits from throughout his career,
including some songs from his latest album "What I Do."
One of the few country artists who can balance his set with
ballads and up-tempo numbers, Jackson wavered between the two,
doing "Little Bitty" and "Too Much of a Good Thing" before
leading into his version of the Hank Williams Jr. classic "Hey
Good Looking."
The Strayhorns showed their rock side by offering a few
licks of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" before "Don't Rock the
Jukebox." Lights lining the back of the stage lit up like an
old Wurlitzer jukebox in support of the song.
Fans were just as enthusiastic about the new material as
they were about older songs, and applauded fervently as
Jackson introduced "To Do What I Do."
"I didn't write it, but when I heard it, it brought back a
lot of good memories," he said about the song, which tells the
story of a musician working his way through the ranks.
On "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," Jackson's hit duet with
Jimmy Buffett, Buffett's vocal parts were supplied via the
song's music video, which was projected on the venue's video
screen. Jackson stayed in sync with Buffett's taped parts, and
fans responded to the song by holding their hands and drinks
aloft.
The car-racing-themed video for "Who's Cheatin' Who" proved
to be an audience favorite. Jackson threw guitar picks into
the audience before the song stopped on a dime. Smoke then
billowed from the stage as he took a stool for "The Talkin'
Song Repair Blues," and his band played an extended jam
session in honor of the genre.
Jackson's set was juxtaposed by Evans' opening performance.
She shared long-winded stories with the audience, who offered
a lukewarm response to the Missouri-bred, pitch-perfect
singer. She spoke of her husband, Craig, her three children
and the roots of many of the songs that she wrote.
During her hour-long set, Evans played a retrospective of
her hits, ranging from "Born to Fly" to the new single from
her forthcoming album, the Radney Foster-penned "Real Fine
Place to Start."
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