Live Review: Brad Paisley/Carrie Underwood/Jake Owen, Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, SC, November 10, 2006

I hopped in my rented Dodge 2007 Ram and headed down to the Syracuse airport yesterday to catch a flight to South Carolina to visit my dad for the weekend. The first order of business, not including the $2 Miller Lites on a sidewalk patio with dinner, was to catch this triple-bill which was in town last night before a packed house in Greenville.

First up was newcomer Jake Owen, who I'd never heard of before this. An energetic 25-minute set was provided, with the highlight being a track titled "You Can Thank Dixie" (lyrics here).

Next was Country Music Association female vocalist of the year, Carrie Underwood. Hurtled to stardom by American Idol, a show which I quite frankly dismiss as a joke, the young lady's lung capacity was nevertheless very impressive (and in more ways than one, I might add). Lots of pre-teen girls were there with their moms to see their hero deliver her set, the highlight of which for me was a raucous rendition of Guns n' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine". (I have long maintained that the natural progression of classic rock is modern country, with just a little fiddle and steel guitar added to the the melodies, big sounds, solos and clear vocals that made the arena rock of 20 years ago great. Thank you, Kurt Cobain.)

Anyways, cheap barroom jokes aside, Carrie Underwood is not going away any time soon and as she gets more comfortable in front of a big audience, things will only continue to go up. I'd say this is a good thing, especially for parents who are looking for a female role model for their litle darlins' in this age of tartted-up skanks and hos like Paris and Britney.

Finally, to the strains of the Star Wars theme song, Brad Paisley came out and launched into "Celebrity", a hilarious dig at the aforementioned divas and the media who love them. Asking the enthusiastic crowd, "this ain't the Yankee Carolina, is it?", most if not all of the hits came out, including "Me Neither" (a song that was performed en francais the last time I saw Brad at the Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec over four years ago), "Mud on the Tires", "When I Get Where I'm Going" (now including Steve Irwin among the now-deceased heroes that were paid tribute to via a large video screen behind the band), "The World", "Alcohol", and "Whiskey Lullaby" which saw Miss Underwood reappear to sing the part of Alison Krauss in the original. Oh, and during "She's Everything", there was a (successful) marriage proposal right in front of us at the sound board.

Brad's encore consisted of a singalong version of "I'm Gonna Miss Her" and "Folsom Prison Blues", leaving the crowd wanting more and once again proving that anyone who doesn't give country music a chance is cheating themselves out of one of the great joys of life. A perfect place to start is with one of my favourite Brad tunes, played last night and titled "Easy Money". You can thank me later.

Pro shots of the evening's proceedings can be found here.

Ratings:

Jake Owen: 8.25/10
Carrie Underwood: 9/10
Brad Paisley: 10/10

Overall rating: 9.75/10