Alan Jackson Thrills Crowd at Ironstone Amphitheatre
A Review by James Roberts
Staff Writer
It’s been just over two years since Alan Jackson
played at Ironstone, and this concert showed that he’s still at the
top of his profession. Immensely likable, with a clear, warm voice
that sings the thoughts, dreams, memories, hopes, sadness and
happiness of everyone in the audience, Jackson could never have fit
all 35 of his number one hits in the one hour and forty minutes he
was on stage. But the twenty-five songs he did sing had much of the
audience on their feet the entire time, many of them dancing in the
aisles.
The concert was
structured pretty much as his last one was, with two screens
flanking the stage and a wide screen at the back of the stage that
played shots of the performance mixed in with photographs, clips
from music videos, and shots of his band members as they played,
along with audience reaction shots. It’s a simple, effective
format, and it enhances the performance rather than distracting
from it.
Courtesy photo http://www.alanjackson.com
Jackson opened his set with “Gone Country” and moved smoothly
through “Summertime Blues,” “Livin’ on Love,” “I Don’t Even Know
Your Name,” and several other well-known tunes, as well as a fun
new song, “Long Way to Go.” He chats with the audience, telling
stories about his songs and his life, and his stage presence is
warm and friendly and relaxed, creating an atmosphere that feels
more intimate than seems possible in an amphitheatre. Among the
other songs in his performance were “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” a
touching tribute to his father, “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” “Little
Bitty,” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning.)”
Near the end of the set a bunch of stools were brought onstage, and
Jackson and his eight member band perched on them in a small
semi-circle while he played a four song medley that included
“Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” and a song recorded with the Zac Brown
Band, “As She’s Walking Away.” After the mini-medley he cranked it
back up again with the crowd pleasers “It’s Five O’ Clock
Somewhere,” and “Chattahoochee,” followed by “Where I Come From,”
featuring a video montage of local scenes and people. The encore
was the up-tempo “Mercury Blues.”
Alan Jackson’s stage set is simple, the lighting effective without
turning the event into a light show, and although the sound quality
was marred for a short while by some static, it was quickly cleared
up and the instrumental and vocal levels were mixed perfectly. As
always, the videography, both live during the
concert and
pre-recorded, were top-notch. This is a quality professional
performance, both musically and technically. Alan Jackson is
absolutely at home on stage. His show is entertaining from
beginning to end, and fans of country music can count on an
exceptional evening; non-fans of country music are very likely to
turn into fans by evening’s end. Alan Jackson is just that good.
http://www.alanjackson.com
The opening act was Shooter
Jennings. Born Waylon Albright Jennings, Shooter, the only child of
country singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, grew up
surrounded by music, and has a country music/Southern rock flavor
to his songs. Shooter and his five member band, Triple Crown,
played eleven songs in their fifty minute set, including “The Deed
and the Dollar,” “The Other Life,” “A Long Road Ahead,” and the
very fun “Outlaw You.” Shooter’s stage presence is still a bit
self-conscious, and he forgot his lyrics more than once, a strange
miss-step from someone who should know better. Unfortunately, the
sound mix had the instrumentals occasionally overpowering the
vocals. A pity, because Jennings has an enjoyable voice, and when
the lyrics came through they, worked very well. Shooter Jennings
will have a new album out in the fall called “Family Man,” and I
expect to buy it and hear what I missed in the live performance. If
the potential that I glimpsed during his set is lived up to, it
should be a CD worth having. Photo
courtesy Ironstone Vineyards
The Ironstone Vineyards
Amphitheatre in Murphys is a beautiful venue. There is reserved
seating down front and lawn seating in the back, and there’s not a
bad seat in the house. The staff is friendly and helpful, parking
is free, and traffic control after the concert is much more
efficient than might be expected. It’s always a pleasant
experience. Upcoming events at Ironstone are Sammy Hagar with
Joe Satriani on September 9, 8pm; Don Henley on October 1,
730pm, and for you classic car enthusiasts, the Concours D'Elegance
is on Saturday, September 24, 2011.
Photo by Tim Dunn
Ticketing
options include the Platinum Dinner package (premium seating,
pre-show four-course Winemaker dinner); Gold Seating (premium
seating with no meal); Silver Seating (reserved seating with buffet
dinner); Reserved Seating (reserved seating with no meal) and
General Admission (lawn seating). Low beach chairs and blankets are
allowed into the General Admission section. Low beach chairs must
have a seat lower than 12" from the ground, and the back must be
lower than 32" from the ground.
Tickets can be purchased on line at
http://www.ticketmaster.com.
To charge tickets by phone, please, call (800) 745-3000. Tickets
are also available at all Ticketmaster Outlets. Lawn tickets are
available at Black Oak Casino. On the day of the show tickets to
that show will be available on site at the Ironstone box office.
Ironstone Amphitheatre is at Ironstone Vineyards, 1894 Six Mile
Road, Murphys, CA. More information at
www.ironstoneamphitheatre.net Be sure to catch one
of the 2011 Summer Concerts and enjoy an Ironstone summer.
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