Music Review: Tim McGraw @ the Sprint Center June 27th

August 17, 2010

The lights dim in the Sprint Center and Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight blares through the speakers.  The screams of the women in attendance fill the air with the realization that the man in the tight shirt and signature black cowboy hat was about to take the stage.  Excitement and urgency flow through me as I wait for the show to start.  The lights dim even more as the song crescendo’s to a heart pounding drum solo.  Screams abound; cameras are turned on and steadied for the first of many photos to be taken.  Finally, the song ends and a few minutes later, the lights are completely turned out.  I scream; the women in the Sprint Center scream-- we all scream for Tim McGraw.

The man we were all waiting for hits the stage with a song that describes him the best…Real Good Man.  The last time I saw Tim McGraw was in 2006, when he came through Kansas City with his wife, my all time favorite, Faith Hill, on their Soul II Soul tour at the now defunct Kemper Arena.  I had forgotten what a magnificent performer he was.  He commands the attention of his audience like a snake charmer.  As Tim regularly states, he and his band do not play around with a lot of chatting. They are here to play great music and that is what the fans got that night.  Old favorites like, Where the Green Grass Grows and Just to See You Smile from the Everywhere album drew the loudest sing-along of the night, along with I Like It, I Love It and Something Like That.

Tim played two songs (Still and Southern Voice) from his latest CD Southern Voice, which was appreciated by those, like me, who had not yet heard the album.  It was not enough to really judge how good the album really is, but it renewed my interest and made me pick up the CD again.  It’s classic Tim…tongue cheek and lots of storytelling songs.  My favorite part of the evening was when the Warren Brothers (a singer-songwriter brother duo) accompanied Tim on a few songs with just an acoustic guitar.  They sang the heavy-hearted If Your Reading This and Feels So Right by Alabama, a classic country love song.  The acoustic version of Blank Sheet of Paper was the highlight of my night, as that is one of my favorites, but not a song that is often played.

Overall, the show was fantastic with good music being played by a stellar band and sung by a versatile man.   If you like Tim McGraw or would like to see an excellent show, he is definitely worth paying the money to see.  I would not miss his show for anything…well… maybe if Keith Urban was playing that same night.             

Crystal M.