On Friday night at the American Airlines Center, country superstar Eric Church gave a hyper-loyal crowd exactly what it wanted: a whole lot of him. That he and his band were in peak form was but an added bonus.
With an almost in-the-round stage design extending into the middle and on both sides of the arena floor, all seats seemed to be good ones. Donning his signature aviator sunglasses all night, Church sang from microphones set up at each end of the stage so that no fan in the impressively-packed arena was left out.
And though there weren't giant inflatable props or pyrotechnics, this was a stadium-sized production. Dancing spotlights, a massive video board and a lead guitar player who seemed to think everyone was there to see him non-ironically offer silly rockstar poses made for a major show befitting of a major star.
Much was made in the media a few months ago when the tour was announced without opening acts and with aggressive measures against scalping. Those would ring hollow had he not followed through with a show matching the big headlines. He delivered.
The first half-hour of the night, which would last around three hours and more than 30 songs, lent credence to Church's self-proclaimed status as an outlaw-style country outsider. Walking onto the stage near the end of Jeff Buckley's hallowed cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," Church began the show with the restrained, gospel-tinged "Mistress Named Music."
A robed choir from Carter Riverside High School in Fort Worth closed out the song in rapturous fashion.
And in a shift that few in modern country can believably pull off, Church went from religious to rebellious rather seamlessly. "Damn Rock and Roll" and "The Outsiders," from his rock-based 2014 album The Outsiders, offered back-to-back examples of his ability to relate to mainstream tastes for mass consumption and still offer gritty individuality.
And before we get too far ahead, there's the matter of his less-than-stellar performance during halftime of the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game a couple of months ago. In the cavernous football palace surrounded by dancing cheerleaders, Church rushed through a medley of his hits while his voice seemed weak and off key in front of a massive national television audience. Everyone has bad days at the office, but on his return to North Texas, the North Carolina native's voice was in fine form, even when he had to stretch a bit for higher notes.
Let's not underrate the unique fact that, unlike far too many of today's country pop pretty boys, Church's voice offers substantial, authentic twang.
Such a quality was ideal when he jovially took on rockers such as "How About You," compete with big beats and bouncing banjo, a funk-ified southern soul tune "Cold One," and especially slower, acoustic-heavy ballads like "Talledega," which was likely the night's biggest sing-along song.
In keeping with the Jesus-loving, joint-smoking, Jack Daniels-shooting theme prevalent throughout his recorded catalog, Church straddled the line between sin and salvation without melodrama or insincere posturing.
The night's second set "Like Jesus Does" was gentle and pretty, immediately followed by a menacing, raucous, "I'm Getting Stoned." As a writer or co-writer for pretty much every song he's recorded, Church has a believable grasp on the nuance involved in real life for normal folks. None of us are perfect, most of us like to have a good time and there's little reason to apologize.
The entire concert, as well as Church's overall life philosophy, probably, was summed up in the night's most participatory anthem, "Pledge Allegiance to the Hag." As a majestic black and white portrait of the late, great Merle Haggard beamed from the giant video screen, Church led the crowd in singing about not only Haggard's greatness, but how even though death will find us all, there's still time to raise a glass to the good times with good friends.
