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Tulsa 'gone country' for Jackson
The star displays his vocal talent during a touching performance of "A Woman's Love."
Country music star Alan Jackson performs at the BOK Center on Saturday. Jeremy Charles / for the Tulsa World
By ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Published: 11/8/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009 8:57 AM
Alan Jackson brought traditional country music to Tulsa on Saturday.
The distinction between "contemporary" country and the original sound is something Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones drew a line in the sand between in a widely publicized interview last week, pointing to Jackson as an example of authenticity.
Call it what you will, the real deal is what Saturday's audience at the BOK Center came to hear.
Jackson opened appropriately with "Gone Country," asking at one point, "How 'bout Tulsa? You gone country?"
The response from the crowd came in the form of cowboy hats and plastic cups of beer waved in the air.
Jackson and his band, the Strayhorns, launched into a string of his greatest hits, including, "I Don't Even Know Your Name," "Livin' On Love," "Summertime Blues," and "Pop a Top," which featured twin fiddles.
He slowed things down a little for one of the few departures of his career, the tender, Alison Krauss-produced, "Like Red on a Rose."
Jackson may be known for being the second-most popular male country singer of the '90s, behind Garth Brooks, but he's churned out his share of hits during the current decade.
Those songs, including "Small Town Southern Man," "Drive" and "Remember When," were just as big crowd-pleasers as Jackson's biggest, early career hits like "Don't Rock the Jukebox," "Tall, Tall Trees" and "Chattahoochee."
One of the best things about Jackson's show was that the audio levels in the arena were never
permitted to drown out his powerful lead vocals, even with an eight-piece band backing him up.
That's something that contemporary country hit-makers would do well to imitate. Then we could really hear how they stack up next to the giants of the genre.
Jackson's vocals were probably best on display during his touching performance of "A Woman's Love," which he sang backdropped by video of him and his wife, Denise, slow dancing in a gazebo.
Saturday's audience was pretty tame for a concert these days, getting on their feet for a standing ovation for "Where Were You," and to dance a little to "Good Time" and "Where I Come From."
Three audience members were among the exceptions to the rule.
Kristin Bratton, Danielle Oldham and Angela Coate, danced the night away and whooped and hollered, "I love you, Alan Jackson" with all their might from their seats at stage right.
Their efforts drew objections from several audience members seated around them, but the attention and a big smile on at least two occasions came from the object of their affection. It was worth it.
Andrea Eger 581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com
By ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
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