The last time Miranda Lambert played Charlotte, it was her
first show back after burying her father-in-law and it was an emotional
exercise in soldiering through with heart-on-sleeve that made fans adore her
even more. Her concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Friday with Dierks
Bentley was a lighter affair, if not carefree. The jubilation came from Bentley,
who repeatedly said it might be the best night of his life. The first time he
said it I assumed it was a line he gave to all audiences, but after noting the
overwhelming response to the sing-along portion of his latest single “I Hold
On” and repeating the sentiment on his knees in thanks to the rapt
audience following the finale of “Home” I kind of believed him. I figured he
meant after the birth of his children.
Bentley’s set appealed to both women and men who knew
practically every single word to every single song. They rolled with him from
the opening lines of “Am I the Only One,” “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),”
“5-1-5-0,” and “Every Mile a Memory” through “Sideways” late in the set. He played
up his hunky looks without removing his shirt or gyrating by bringing a girl
from the crowd on stage to pretend to play guitar while he watched her shake
from behind leaning on the pedal steel riser and flirting jokingly with another
late in the set.
He even handed a guitar to someone in the pit area after his
set was over. He was very particular about who received it (maybe a kid? I
couldn’t see). He didn’t make a big show of his generosity either. The music
had stopped, the band was leaving the stage, and applause were subsiding.
The logistics of two supersize country artists sharing the
Locked and Reloaded stage was solved by Bentley working vertically on a
three-tiered stage and Lambert’s setup utilizing depth instead of height. Both prowled
a wide guitar-painted walkway that extended into the audience. Bentley and his
band began the rootsy party song “Up on the Ridge” standing in front of the
wide screen at the top back of his stage and made their way to the end of the
walkway by song’s end.
In torn jeans, a plaid shirt that gave way to a black
t-shirt and shorter curls that he admitted cutting covered with a ball cap, he led
songs about drinking (“Tip It On Back”) and more poignant numbers like “I Hold
On.” He introduced the latter by noting the old things he values - his acoustic
guitar signed by Georges Strait and Jones and the truck he originally drove to
Nashville. He ended the show by dedicating “Home” to the military. The soldier
beside me, who said he deploys in two weeks, was irked that so many folks in
front of us sat down for the song. Maybe people thought the dedication signaled
a time to be more serious. Regardless I was glad I remained on my feet.
Between sets a trio from Nashville called Jukebox Mafia
entertained the crowd from the center of the amphitheater with acoustic guitar-accompanied live mashups of classic rock, hip-hop, country, and R&B hits.
The trio, which Lambert discovered and immediately invited on tour according to
the backstory they shared, weaved tunes by Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, and
Georgia Satellites. Their soulful singing and funky hip-hop backbeat went
over fabulously with the crowd. My sister texted me from the lawn: “Who is this
and where can I go see them?”
Lambert came out firing with “Fastest Girl in Town.” The
production was grander and more impressive than at Bojangles’ Coliseum a year
and a half ago when she first began touring for the “Four the Record” album. She hit on “Only Prettier” and “Baggage Claim” with signature sass early on. She
let loose on Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band’s “Fire Down Below,” which
was the strongest of five cover songs. She flung her long blonde locks wildly
and stomped the stage before turning serious on “Over You.” She skipped the 2013 CMA Song of the Year, which she and husband Blake Shelton wrote for his deceased brother, on
her last trip to Charlotte. It was obvious the very personal hit is still a
tough one to perform.
The mood lifted for “Me and Charlie Talking” before turning
serious again for “Dead Flowers.” Her voice soared on the ballad, leaving behind
her country girl twang for the maturity and tempered scale climbing Lambert is
capable of but doesn’t over use (she does this on the new Willie Nelson duets
album too). It was a beautiful performance, but her face read as if this one
got to her too.
Later in the set Lambert apologized for forgetting some
words (she apparently forgot an entire verse of JOhn Prine's “That's the Way the World Goes `Round”). She said she was anxious about going into the studio on Monday to work
on a new record. Having seen her four times now, there’s a sense that despite
her tough girl persona Lambert is a sensitive soul that takes whatever is going
on in her life on stage with her. That might not work for a highly
choreographed pop artist like Lady Gaga or Madonna, but in country music it
makes her seem more like a member of her audience.
Her sass returned for “Mama’s Broken Heart” as she spun like
Stevie Nicks in her black tank top, sequined silver skirt, and fringed boots. She
and opening act Gwen Sebastian (from “The Voices’” Team Blake) rallied for girl
power on the Judds’ “Girls Night Out.” It was the second of five covers,
including the all-star encore of “King of the Road” with Jukebox Mafia, Bentley,
Sebastian, Randy Rogers (who turned in a crowd-rousing opening set) and their
bands. Personally I want more originals (“Airstream Song” and “Me and Your
Cigarettes” from “Revolution” would be my picks), but that’s just me.
There were no costume changes or band-showcasing exits.
Lambert is no diva. She and Bentley both performed with five-piece bands, not
the swelling three-guitar assaults solo stars sometimes carry. She broke from
recent setlists, switching order and leaving a couple songs off. Instead she
opted for must-play hits like “Famous in a Small Town” and “Kerosene.” The latter always manages to burn the house down as if it was meant to close the
show. That place was reserved for the equally fiery “Gunpowder and Lead.”
In between she struck on The Beatles’ “Get Back,” the new
single “All Kinds of Kinds” (with a beautiful revolving light show of disco
balls throwing white light around the arena) and the touching “House That Built
Me.” But it was during “Gunpowder & Lead” that a gleeful grin was glued to
her face.
She ended with an encore of “White Liar” and the all-star jam where
she again threw the spotlight to her touring companions. If she hadn’t admitted
earlier to “seeming disheveled” the crowd wouldn’t have noticed. But that’s
kind of why people dig her - because she does admit it.
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