Allphones Arena, Sydney
Tuesday October 1, 2013 :
The chances of winning an Olympic gold medal – one in 7.5 million. The chances of a small town country music artist recording a number one hit – one in 11.5 million. Considering Alan Jackson has thirty four of them and I would not even begin to contemplate those odds. For the tall, modest and at times unassuming musician from Georgia USA, Sydney’s Allphones Arena was the stopover on his second Australian tour in the past three years.
The evening kicked off with Newcastle local, Morgan Evans, whose five songs set barely wet the pallet of his true capabilities. With two hit EP’S under his belt, Evans is set for an album release next year and no doubt a long year of touring to promote it. The vibe around me was people liked his look and his sound but you barely got to sample it. Having seen Morgan a number of times now, make a date to catch him. He has to be one of the hardest working muso’s around and you can’t help but feel success and America is just around the corner.
Alan Jackson’s touring support, Sara Evans, hailing from Missouri joined the stage. For the next 45 minutes she took us through her bulging collection of hits including ‘You’ll Always Be My Baby’, ‘As If’ and the catchy ‘Suds in the Bucket’. Wearing hot pants and high heels, Evans was comfortable working the crowd. Towards the end of her performance, Evans apologised for her voice as she was suffering from severe bronchitis, but you really had to listen to confirm that. After the apology Evans broke into a killer version of Pink’s ‘Give Me Just A Reason’ backed by her band guitarist Brent Wilson. I would definitely pay to see Evans again minus bronchitis and in a full concert mode.
Enter Alan Jackson opening with ‘Gone Country’, the tall Georgian owned the stage after the first line, he had shares in the crowd by the second and owned the stadium by the third. Jackson’s presence is enforced by his tight eight piece band, The Longhorns. Jackson’s catalogue is long and impossible to fit in 90 minutes. Moving into ‘Small Town Country Boy’, Jackson told how he grew up in Georgia – typical story of the era; big family, little house.
Then the hits kept coming. ‘Drive (for Daddy Gene)’ was dedicated to the passing of his father, ‘Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning’ was dedicated to the brave souls lost in September 11. For me the highlight was seeing the nine guys sitting around the stage almost jamming with a comfort only reserved for family. ‘Remember When’ drew a tear even from the biggest of Australian cowboys. Jackson then ramped up the tempo with ‘Good Time’, the duet classic ‘It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere’ complete with visuals of Jimmy Buffet. Jackson finished with the up tempo ‘Chattahoochee’ and as quick as that it was all over. Jackson has quickly developed a comfortable place in Australian society with this his second tour. Let’s hope he does not leave it to long before he makes it a third.
Reviewer / Photographer: David Jackson (images from Deni Ute Muster)
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