from witty comedic songs like ‘Online’,
to the moving sentiment of ‘Whiskey
Lullaby’ and ‘Today’, to stadium rockers
‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Alcohol’, you have to
feel you’ve had your money’s worth.
As we left the arena like a rowdy
country football crowd singing ‘Mona
Lisa’ like fans whose team had just won
the FA cup, it was clear C2C was off to
one rip-roaring start.
voice, belting out ‘Wagon Wheel’, fell
quiet aside from a brief show of vocal
support on ‘Because Of You’, written
and originally performed by Reba’s
daughter-in-law Kelly Clarkson.
This was to be the pinnacle of the
middle day and it was mortifying to
see a star with no less than 32 US
number one singles to her name (the
most held by a female country artist),
playing to so many empty seats. Social
media was ablaze with rage at the
blatant disrespect shown to walk out
on such a prominent artist, who many
view as the ‘Queen of Country’. But as
the masses who chose to vote with
their feet retorted: why would we stay
for something we’re really not
enjoying? For my part, I can’t make
either party wrong, but I’m keen to
find an explanation as to why this
unexpected reaction came about. Was
Reba, for want of a better word, bad?
Absolutely not. Her performance was
REBA MCENTIRE
Now in her fourth decade in the
industry, Reba is country royalty. To
have her headlining C2C was quite a
coup and excitement was in the air.
Darius Rucker, by this point, had
whipped the crowd into an absolute
frenzy who wanted the party to
continue. British country fans are a
knowledgeable bunch, so most were
well aware of the magnitude of the act
we were waiting for. The lights went
down and her entrance lauded simply
by 'Reba' on the big screen, she kicked
off with 'Can't Even Get The Blues' and
we were off. 'Whoever's In New
England' was a real highlight and the
two songs from her newest album
'Sing It Now: Songs of Hope & Faith'
were a treat. 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot'
having, of course, special significance
to a British crowd, whether by luck or
judgement on her part.
However, the slow but steady
exodus that had been taking place
song by song, had eventually left Reba
singing to a half empty auditorium.
The atmosphere, at fever pitch less an
hour previous, had changed. An
audience that had been in excellent
gimmick front either as we were
treated to a new South Park video to
accompany ‘Celebrity’, and an
ingenious Face Time duet with Carrie
Underwood on ‘Remind Me’. Last
year’s Saturday headliner quipped:
"wish I could be there but this is
better ‘cause I don’t actually have to
be with Brad!"
Being at a Brad Paisley show
can be a roller-coaster of emotions,
turn it on. So when we find it, we
make sure we make the most of
every single note. This sentiment,
smoothly leads us into ‘Country
Music’, he pauses mid first verse to
sign the guitar he’s playing and
hands it to an overwhelmed little girl
in front of the stage, saying "that’s
how you make a Taylor Swift". Just
one of the many wonderful and
unique moments Brad never fails to
create in his live shows.
It was great to see everyone's
favourite country bromance on stage
again as Chris Young joined Paisley
for ‘I’m Still A Guy’ and the usual selfie
shenanigans followed. Brad loves to
get his audience involved with his
shows which is part of what makes
him such a great entertainer. This
was further evident as he went out
into the audience to make the
distance down to the back of the
arena to the Yamaha stage, so that
those of us in the ‘cheap seats’ could
get our chance to be close...er to the
action. Here he performed the
beautiful ‘Then’ and a new song
‘Ashamed Of Your Selfie’ that had the
audience in fits of giggles, before
making the return journey to
‘Southern Comfort Zone’.
sle
sl
e y d
ey
Paisley
didn’t disappoint on the
that of a consummate professional. Of
someone with a staggering wealth of
experience and a back catalogue to
match. Her voice as great now, as it
was in career decade one. Could it be
then that it felt a little too polished?
She never really broke that fourth wall
and I confess to finding myself feeling
detached as a result. Her in-between-
song interaction felt well-rehearsed, as
though she had been saying these
words in every show for the last thirty
odd years, regardless of location. Most
contained US pop culture references
that could be easily lost on a British
audience: “remember when you could
only watch music videos on HBO?”. No
Reba, you know why? We don't get HBO!
I thought to myself just before my
Mother leaned in and whispered in my
ear “Kelly, what's HBO?” “I grew up
on the Carol Burnett Show” Reba
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