On Thursday night, March 4, lovers of country music filled the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis and were treated to a trio of three major country artists;
Lee Ann Womack,
Reba McEntire and
George Strait. The square stage, centered in the middle of the arena, provided almost everyone with a great view and is an idea that Strait incorporates into most of his shows. Perhaps the only ones who might not like this concept are the ones seated on the floor, usually the best seats at an end-stage setup. With this setup, at times they cannot see anything but the back of the singer and have to rely on the small screens near the top of the center of the arena. Thanks to a friend who gave us our tickets, we had front row, lower section next to the floor, and had superb viewing all night.
Lee Ann Womack opened the show with a 30 minute parade of No. 1 hits.
'
I Hope You Dance' had the audience singing along while her current single ‘
There Is A God’ provided a poignant look at life’s struggles and miracles. She packed as many of her hits as she could in that short length of time and her voice was amazing. However, her choice of stage attire seemed to lack the dazzle of most female country singers - she almost looked like she woke up that morning, threw on some leisure clothes and then decided to put on a concert that night by adding some bright, red high heels. Even though her image was a little toned-down, her deliverance proved steady and crowd-pleasing.
McEntire, now preferred to as simply ‘Reba’, completely dominated the 4 ½ hr. show. Toned and buff in tight jeans and a dazzling sleeveless tank, she strutted from side to side belting out hit after hit, quickly drawing in the crowd. It is easy to see why she is known as the ’Queen of Country Music’, a title she has earned from delivering three decades of No. 1 hits. Lee Ann Womack surprised the audience by joining Reba on ‘
Does He Love You’ singing Linda Davis’ part, bringing down the house and earning both a standing ovation. Melissa Peterman, co-star of the now defunct “Reba” sitcom and currently hosts “The Singing Bee” on CMT was also a welcome surprise, bursting onto the stage appearing to startle Reba, who gamefully played along. Peterman eventually joined in on the TV show’s theme song, ‘
I’m a Survivor.’ Combined with Reba’s straight-man role, Peterman’s comedic routine left the audience rolling in the aisles.
Known for her a-list style, Reba’s only costume change appeared for the finale - a dazzling encore that began with Reba being chauffeured to the stage by a bright yellow taxi, stepping out in a glittery, short red dress and high heels, to belt out ‘
Fancy,’ working the stage with microphone in hand and simply wowing the crowd. Reba left everyone highly vamped and more than ready for Strait’s set.
After a strong opening which included the current cut ‘
Twang’ from Strait’s new album with the same title, the momentum seemed to take a turn. Walking lazily from one corner to the next, Strait delivered exactly two songs per view, almost mechanically and without a lot of crowd interaction. Alternating between his Texas swing hits, honky-tonk number ones and numerous cuts from the current album, Strait seemed to be merely going through the motions and didn’t show any real energy or passion until the finale. As die-hard George Strait fans, we had been waiting patiently for one of our favorites, ‘
Take a Little Note,’ a No. 1 song that was played for months in its popularity, and we were highly disappointed that he chose instead to subject us to way too many new songs. While we understand the need to promote the current album, we felt that Strait should have included more of his 50-plus hits and keep the momentum from slipping. We observed fans alternating between singing along gratefully to old and familiar tunes, to sitting down restlessly listening to the unfamiliar newbies. As his finale, Strait chose a great rendition of Cash’s ‘
Folsom Prison Blues,’ but we would have preferred the song we had been waiting for all night.
Country music fans were probably thrilled as I, just to be in his presence, but his delivery surely disappointed even the most die-hard George Strait fan. However, with all said and done, even though he lacks the stage presence and dynamic energy of
Dierks Bentley or
Keith Urban, it’s hard not to sit there and be thankful the ‘King of Country Music’ still possesses the desire to bring his music to his fans.
- Dixiebella
__________________________________________________________
Keep up with UCB:
follow us on Twitter and become
a fan on Facebook.
Concert Review - Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, and George Strait in Memphis, TN
