The On Fire Tour
Well, firstly, let me apologize for not being in these past two days. I have a sinus infection that I had mistaken for general allergies. I went to the doctor Monday and got some medicine, I should be back at work on Wednesday.
Before I went to the doctor and really knew what I was dealing with, I went out on a Sunday night (even though I had a sore throat and enough mucus to seal a dam) to see the On Fire Tour.
The On Fire Tour, if you weren't sure, included three artists from modern country music.
The opening act started promptly at 7:25, Jerrod Niemann.
This young man has been to the Missouri State Fair before, and seemed friendly and personable on stage. I heard through the grapevine he wasn't feeling well - and if that was the case you certainly didn't see it on stage. Jarrod has had about four hits, and played them all with aplomb, with a couple of new songs and a couple of covers. It was enjoyable, but it was all business. He did his half an hour and went on his way.
Next was another rung up in terms of success in modern country, Chris Young.
Chris was considerably more energetic (maybe he wasn't sick) and immediately had the audience on it's feet. He hit the ground running with a high energy beginning and truly surprised me with his ability to hold on to that energy for so long.
Now Chris has had quite a few hits and most of the set was a compilation of those. There was one small hiccup when the lighting crew thought the show was over..... and another funny moment where Chris stopped the show to enlighten us all in the magical hair of Conway Twitty.
I got a small cameraphone picture of the moment:
I think at that part he was trying to place his face into the pattern of Mr Twitty's hair.
Overall I would say I was pleasantly suprised by his show; I really think in a couple years he'll be a solid, entertaining headliner on a tour maybe of this same size.
Next, came the headliner, the person that I and admittedly hundreds of other ladies had came to see, Miranda Lambert.
The previous two acts had been in front of tarps, which clearly were done to keep Miranda's more elaborate and expensive show set up behind them.
The lighting effect was achieved through about a dozen small screens that would change in and out in time with the mood and theme of the song. Miranda's had four albums now and played basically every single she had, with a few new songs off of the latest album, Four the Record.
The new songs she played included "All Kinds of Kinds", "My Mamma's Broken Heart", and a special, different setup for the distinctly achieved sound of "Fine Tune". They pulled out a couch, she sat on it, and sang through one of the older specialty microphones that were used to achieve the tinny effect on the album.
Humor was rampant throughout the show; she told stories about people she met like Lady Gaga, rivalries between country singers (no names mentioned), and how "pissed" she can now get since she's married. There was one slight disappointment for me - at one point she played the song "Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo". I can understand Jerrod or Chris pulling out a cover..... they haven't got four albums under their belt. But Miranda? I didn't feel like she had to do that. I would have much rather heard an album track of equal energy to that cover, like "Dry Town" or "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go". After all, we all came here to see Miranda Lambert sing Miranda Lambert songs, right?
The mostly female dominated audience, though, loved every second of it. I would definitely recommend it anyone who likes even just what they've heard on the radio.
And now, back to my pills and tissues and lozenges.
Love and sneezes,
Behka
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