It used to be that a country music concert was about music, leaving the theatrics and special effects to the rock `n` rollers.
Not any more. In her 90-minute show before an adoring audience Saturday at Poplar Creek, country diva Reba McEntire made extensive use of lasers, special sets, elaborate staging, film clips and at least five costume changes in a production that would have been more appropriate for Liza in Vegas.
The overkill was unnecessary, however, as McEntire is far and away the most technically dazzling singer in country music. In her show she
effortlessly jumped several octaves in one note on ”The Last One to Know,”
elongated the word ”has” to six syllables on ”Rumor Has It” and got funky on a version of ”Respect” that would have done Aretha Franklin proud.
Despite all that, it seemed almost as if McEntire was treating the music as an afterthought.
The concert opened with the sound of rain and thunder blasting out of the sound system while the stage lights simulated lightning.
A curtain parted to reveal her 10-piece band while McEntire`s voice was heard a few seconds before a shroud lifted to reveal her in a rhinestone-studded black jacket, shaking her trademark, high-maintenance red curls.
It was an entrance worthy of Cher.
The hits were all there-”Whoever`s In New England,” ”Little Rock,”
”Walk On,” but McEntire seemed to be playing to the cameras that projected her image on large video screens as much as to the audience. Then there was ”For My Broken Heart,” whose raw emotion was ruined by the hokey laser image of a heart breaking.
With a voice like McEntire`s, the ultra-slick presentation is just overkill.
Opener Vince Gill had his share of supporters in the crowd, opening with a blistering ”Oklahoma Borderline” that showcased his slick guitar playing. Most of his hits, however, have been ballads, and the over-abundance of ballads made for a less than riveting set.