George Strait – Richmond Coliseum – Richmond, VA – 02.28.08

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 02.29.2008

The best country show going? Damn Strait!

My Story
I grew up a country music fan. From George Strait to Randy Travis to Garth Brooks, I followed country through its new traditionalist revival and into the contemporary movement in the 90’s. At some point, though, I began to care less and less for country radio. You could blame the influx of bands that were less and less country (Rascal Flatts, I’m looking at you), or just an expanding appreciation for other genres. Not only had country radio long passed me by, but I haven’t been to a pure country concert in at least a decade.

Still, when a chance to catch George Strait live came up, I jumped, as the guy has been making solid country music for nearly 30 years now. How would that translate on the stage?

His Story
George Strait is more or less synonymous with country music. His blend of honky tonk and western swing has managed to stay mainstream even as the popular sound of country radio has continuously shifted. Since his debut in 1981, Strait has put out twenty-one #1 country albums, from 1983’s Right Or Wrong to 2006’s It Just Comes Natural. Fourteen of those big hit albums have reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 200.

Not only that, but of Strait’s 84 country singles, only one of them has failed to reach the Country Top 20 (a cover of Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues”, which fell just shy at #24). 42 of those singles (exactly half) have reached #1 on Billboard. His 55 chart topping singles (across all charts) is the most of any artist in any genre. Over the last ten years, Strait has posted ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40, including last year’s “Give It Away”.

With all of that history behind him, George Strait could easily rest on his laurels and be considered an undisputed legend. Instead, he has continued to challenge himself and his audience with regular album releases. In 2007, he began a 23 arena tour with Ronnie Milsap and hot country newcomer Taylor Swift.

In January of 2008, Strait kicked off a new tour with support from country band Little Big Town and newcomer Sarah Johns. The tour promotes Strait’s upcoming new album, Troubador, which hits stores on April 1st. The lead single, “I Saw God Today”, recently debuted on the Billboard Country charts at #19, Strait’s highest debut yet.

The Show
This wasn’t my first trip to the Richmond Coliseum, a 12,000-seat arena in the capital city of Virginia. There’s nothing really out of the ordinary about the place, but it does seem to have a good staff and a lot of great (and free) parking. I do appreciate that its yet to be named after a company.

The Richmond crowd remained pretty subdued throughout the night, content to mostly stay in their seats, cheer for each song at the beginning and end and sing along until their heart was content. Rowdy fans were dealt with handily, except maybe the drunk guys beside me who stood the whole time urging “Sing that shit, George!” To be fair, George really was singing that shit well.

The stage set-up was pretty interesting. As an outdoor show vet, this was my first concert “in the round”, as the stage sat center of the bowl shaped arena. There was some great lighting effects, and most of the band members sat in a circle around the stage, the way you’d assume they’d play in a live studio setting. This posed an interesting problem of “playing to the audience” for the performers. Sarah Johns was hyper-charged with energy, carrying her mic and moving all over the stage. The four-piece Little Big Town attempted sending their members to all four sides of the stage, but seemed to prefer lining up on the edges for most of the show. George Strait himself took a much more judicious approach, spending two songs on each corner of the stage and then cycling to the next. You’d think this would leave you screwed once Strait hit up the opposite side, but giant TV screens (and even a few smaller ones) did a good job of capturing the action for the whole night.

And speaking of the openers, Sarah Johns has definitely made a new fan here. If not for her sassy country songs, then for her endearing cover of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ In The Dark”. And if not for those, then for her thighs, which were in a word yummy. Johns, wearing a sexy strapless black dress and boots, excited the crowd (especially the males – well, especially me) with her 25-minute set and exited to a good deal of cheers. Her debut album, The One In The Middle, was released last year and contains the singles “The One In The Middle” (a Top 40 hit) and “He Hates Me” (a current chart climber).

Little Big Town broke about three years ago on the country scene with their Top 10 hit “Boondocks”. The 2-girl, 2-guy group have some great vocal harmonies – you could think of them as modern country’s answer to Fleetwood Mac. They released their third album, A Place To Land last year on indie label Equity. It reached #24 on the Billboard 200. Little Big Town is a little too pop country for me, though they definitely appeal to the adult set over the teens. To continue the FM reference, they nearly had me off the fence with their cover of Mac’s “You Can Go Your Own Way”. But I really can’t stand “Boondocks”.

All of this proved to be a good set of music, though, and set a perfect mood for George Strait’s set.

The Band
George Strait has been touring with his Ace In The Hole Band seemingly since before time began. I believe Ace In The Hole sprung up the day after Texas was declared a state, actually. With a crack team of guitarists, fiddlers and steel players, George sounded just as good as he does on the radio, making for a great sing-a-long atmosphere. Strait himself, currently 55, let his smooth western vocals boom authoratively, and the only tips to show the passage of time were a few wrinkles around his eyes and the never ending supply of hit songs.

The Ace In The Hole band got to shine a few times throughout the night, especially on the big fiddle numbers like “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” and the classic “Amarillo By Morning”. Other numbers, like “Unwound” and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”, found the whole band cutting loose. The sense of fun spilled over into the crowd, who were begging for more, even after Strait performed nearly thirty of his best-loved songs.

The Set
“Honk If You Honky Tonk”
“Ocean Front Property”
“The Fireman”
“I Hate Everything”
“Run”
“There Stands The Glass”
“Check Yes or No”
“The Chair”
“She'll Leave You With a Smile”
“I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore”
“Cowboys Like Us”
“Texas”
-Band Introductions-
“Amarillo By Morning”
“The Seashores of Old Mexico”
“Write This Down”
“A Better Rain”
“How 'Bout Them Cowgirls”
“I Saw God Today”
“Give It Away”
“It Just Comes Natural”
“I Can Still Make Cheyenne”
“Heartland”
“I Just Want To Dance With You”
“Wrapped”
“Unwound”

ENCORE:
“High Tone Woman”
“Folsom Prison Blues”
“The Cowboy Rides Away”

With nearly three full decades of hits, there are several guarantees when you go to a George Strait show. 1) You’re gonna recognize nearly every song, 2) There’s gonna be a song you wish he had sung, 3) You’re gonna be wanting more and 4) You’re gonna have a hell of a time. Strait packed as much as he could into an hour and 45 minutes, and there was something for everybody and nothing a George Strait fan wouldn’t love.

George covered his earliest years in the 80’s, busting out cuts like the rodeo anthem “Amarillo By Morning”, the tongue-in-cheek “Fireman” and a hard rocking set closing version of “Unwound”, not to mention the western swing of his encore version of “The Cowboy Rides Away”. There was also plenty of great cuts from the 90’s, too, including the playful “Check Yes Or No” and the hardcore heartbreak ballad “She’ll Leave You With A Smile”. Strait’s 2000’s cuts got huge cheers, too, including favorites like “Cowboys Like Us” and the rousing ode to his home state, “Texas”. Strait even paid tribute to the legends, with covers of Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and Webb Pierce’s “There Stands The Glass”.

In all, it was hit after hit, making for a great night of country music. George Strait most definitely left us with a smile.

The 411: There are few country acts who could top the sheer hitmaking longevity of George Strait. The man could do three hours and never sing a song you didn’t know. For the time he gave us though, it was country heaven. George’s western swing and traditional roots shone bright (and were well received). Hits from the 80’s, 90’s and today whipped the crowd into a frenzy, as even the brand spanking new single “I Saw God Today” drew a huge response. Combine that with a good set of openers (especially Ms. Sarah Johns) and you’ve got the best night of country you could ask for. Don’t miss George Strait the next time he comes to your city.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]