2014-03-18

ONTARIO, CA (KFROG.COM) - Saturday (March 15) Ontario, California was taken by storm when Lady Antebellum‘s “Take Me Downtown Tour” hit the stage.  The world of County Music has evolved into major stage productions and Saturday night’s show was no exception.

First to take the stage was, relatively, new county music sensation Kacey Musgraves. The seventh-place finisher of Nashville Star, her talents as a wordsmith have only continued to grow.  Her simple set design of a picket fence upstage and scrim overhead with the picture of a dilapidated trailer signified the title of her debut album, “Same Trailer Different Park.”

She began her set with “Trailer Song” setting the tone for a fun and upbeat 45 minutes, transporting the audience into her trailer park world.  During “Blowin’ Smoke”, she made use of the giant screens, flanking the stage on the right and the left, by showing her campy truck stop video of the same name. Throughout her set, Kacey exhibited her wide range of musical accomplishment by rotating between a mandolin, acoustic guitar, and the harmonica.

“Mama’s Broken Heart”, written by Musgraves, had an eerie almost sinister sound, not present in the Miranda Lambert radio version. “Merry Go Round”, which debuted in September 2012 and made her a household name, had the crowd singing and swaying along as the stage was lit with white rotating dots, garnering the nostalgia the song captivates.



Singer Kacey Musgraves performs onstage. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Introducing her latest single, “Follow Your Arrow”, Musgraves addressed the audience: “I feel that Californian’s follow their arrow better than anyone.  This song is about doing what makes you happy.  You are never going to make everyone happy, so do what makes you happy!” After thanking those in attendance for coming out early, she and her band mates took center stage, the bands suites lit up with little lights, and they launched into “My House” and tribute to her blues grass influences of Patti Griffin and John Prine.  Kacey Musgraves shows great promise of becoming a triple threat to the world of country music.

The house lights came up and, a quick set change brought on an industrial looking lighting schematic, indicative of the barebones, rough and tumbles “mans-man” we have come to expect from Kip Moore.  Moore did not disappoint.  His raw and robust performance was reminiscent of the Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams concerts in the late 80’s.

It is obvious that Kip Moore is an artist not willing to compromise his image for the more glamorous and polished finish, so prevalent in today’s country music. From the fist bars of “Crazy One More Time”, the crowd at Citizens Business Bank Arena knew they were in for a wild ride.



Kip Moore (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

During the popular radio single, “Beer Money”, Moore walked the “Y” shaped thrust, shaking hands and even “Twirling” female audience members.  His set took settled down when Moore, sitting alone on a stool in the middle of the thrust, did acoustic renditions of his ballad “Hey Pretty Girl” and a rather creative version of the Ben E. King classic, “Stand By Me.”

Kip played with the audience, using colorful language, he talked about the stages of emotion experienced after a break up to introduce “Fly Again”. In constant motion, he teased audience members about their dependence on their cell phones, “Are you going to hold that phone the whole…show?” he asked one female audience member.  He comically ranted about our cultures obsession with the hashtag (#), teasing, “I bet your one of those California girls that does, #pooltime, #girlsnight, #hamburger: Ain’t nobody gives a [expletive] about your food.”

The social commentary was the lead into his closing with “Something ‘Bout A Truck.”  Kip Moore’s show is not one for the faint of heart.  He is gritty and loud, just the way his fans want him.

Lady Antebellum captivated the world of County Music with their debut song, “Love Don’t Live Here”, in 2008.  The self titled Album put them on the proverbial music “map” and it is clear that they are here to stay.  Saturday night, Ontario’s Citizens Business Bank Arena came alive with a well choreographed concert production.

As the lights went down, the music came up fans focused their attention towards the stage as graphics of a skyline began to form on the scrim.  As the music built and the skyline completed, spotlights came up in the back of the house and their on a raised platform stage among the floor seat crowd stood Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood – otherwise known as Lady Antebellum.

Opening with their current number on hit “Compass”, band members made their way through the crowd to take their place center stage.  “Golden”, off the latest album of the same name, reflected the melding of vocals the bands is now famous for. “Just A Kiss”, bumped up the theatrical elements as CGI roses burned feverously in the background. “Perfect Day”, gave the audience a peak into life on the road, as a slide show of band pictures from throughout the world flashed in a slideshow across the scrim. Charles addressed the capacity crowd, humbling thanking those in attendance for their support and fandom over the years.

“California is our number 1 state to tour in…truly the best crowds…Thank you for being there since the beginning!” The band then launched into the aforementioned, “Love Don’t Live Here”. Once again using the isle through the floor seating, Charles entered the sea of fans with a GoPro, stopping to nestle up to fans for brief “selfies” and crowd shots.

Showing they leave no stone unturned, the lighting played a huge part in setting the tone throughout Saturday night’s concert.  As the arena was lit in an amber glow, Hillary addressed the audience “I have a favor to ask… that the men sit this one out…We love to hear the ladies in the audience sing this song… you are all beautiful American Honies [sic].”



Lady Antebellum (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Half way through the three primary members of Lady A ventured out to the stage right section of their “Y” shaped thrust stage, to perform three-acoustic renditions of their less mainstream songs, informing the audience that they want to continue to play songs “like we used to.”  The last of the acoustic set, “Hello World” was introduced by Charles.  He took the audience on a brief journey to the infamous music row in Nashville, commenting on how they “feel so blessed to have been able to record such a very special song.”

Band introductions included antidotes about each member, where they met, special skills, and in the case of the drummer, the fact that he is Hillary’s husband.

Kacey Musgraves and Kip Moore returned to the stage to join in “Landside”.  Recently, Lady A preformed with Stevie Nicks on CMT Crossroads, remarking “it was the best experience”, the group did an amazing job covering the Fleetwood Mac classic.

“Downtown” and “Good Time” had the crowd ecstatic and continued the trend of showing videos and slide shows of the band with family, friends and fans.

“We Owned the Night”, the title of the bands second number 1 album closed the show.  As the lyrics flashed across the three screens, purple and white confetti fell from the sky on cue from the kick drum and the crowd screamed it approval.

The arena went dark and the crowd chanted, whistled and screamed for more.

As the anticipation built, the scrim came alive once again.  This time videos of different individuals from the famous (Adele and Shakira to name a few) came to life on the screen; all of them singing a few bars of “I Need You Now”.  The boom of the drum set curtain upstage tumbling to the stage floor and for a final time, Lady Antebellum took the stage.

Finishing their famous song, they launched into a raucous cover of “Wake Me Up” (Avicii) and “Cups.”

They thanked the audience again and with that, the 2014 Take Me Downtown Tour ended in Ontario, California.

Lady Antebellum’s bright, colorful, commanding performance proved that this band has not only stolen the heart of Country music fans, they understand the importance of putting on a truly great production to exhibit their vast talents as a trio.

Setlists

KACEY MUSGRAVES

“Trailer Song”

“Blowin’ Smoke”

“Stupid”

“Keep It to Yourself”

“Mama’s Broken Heart”

“Scrubs“

“Merry Go ‘Round”

“Follow Your Arrow”

“My House”

KIP MOORE

“Crazy One More Time”

“Reckless (Still Growin’ Up)”

“Beer Money”

“Get Into Something”

“Unless Heaven’s Got a Dirt Road”

“Hey Pretty Girl”

“Stand By Me”

“Cigarette”

“Fly Again”

“Forget About You”

“Somethin’ About a Truck”

LADY ANTEBELLUM

“Compass”

“Better Off Now”

“Our Kind of Love”

“Good to Me”

“Just a Kiss”

“Love Don’t Live Here”

“American Honey”

“It Ain’t Pretty”

“Run to You”
Acoustic set: “Dancin’ Away with My Heart” / “Wanted You More”/”Goodbye Town”/”Hello World”

“Landslide” with Kasey Musgraves and Kip Moore

“Downtown”

“Lookin’ for a Good Time”

“We Owned the Night”
Encore:
“Need You Now“

“Wake Me Up”

“Cups”

→ Barbara Waters is a K-FROG Radio Concert Correspondent on KFRG 95.1 FM Riverside & KXFG 92.9 FM Temecula. Jackson Dodd of CBS Riverside contributed to this article. 

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