| Concert Review: Dierks Bentley | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
After Marcel, the crowed rolled in and geared up for Dierks Bentley. As I looked around I could see that there were a ton of teen to twenty something girls wearing "white tank tops." These facts lead me to believe that over half the crowd came to see Dierks. After the set was ready to go, Dierks and his band took the stage.
Opening up with "Bartenders, etc..." from Dierks' first Capitol album, the fun, irreverent honky tonk song had the crowd up and dancing along. "Forget About You" came next and kept the crowd dancing and singing along. Next Dierks broke into a cover of the Harlan Howard classic song "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." It is a song that Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Webb Pierce and Del McCoury have recorded.
"I Bought The Shoes" followed and this Ken Mellons (with Jimmy Melton and Dale Dodson)-penned song is one of the most humorous songs I've heard in a while. A stone country honky-tonker, the song tells a story of a man who bought his lady everything she wanted only to find out she wanted the one thing he didn't give her the most, himself. Waylon Jennings' "Lonesome On'ry And Mean" was up next and blows away any other version I've previously heard (besides Waylon of course). After five songs, Dierks sang his first ballad of the night with "I Wish It Would Break." Lyrically the song tells a story of a guy who wishes he'd stop hearing and seeing things that remind him of his old love. "How Am I Doin'" starts out as a slow song then breaks into a Honky Tonk send up to an ex. This song is a great concert track and showcased steel guitarist Gary Morse's ("borrowed" from Dwight Yoakam's band).
Dierks then tells a story of listening to the Opry Radio show as a youngster and how it informed of his musical insprirations. The radio show inspired him to write a song called "Midnight Radio" that was on his self-released album. After a brief interlude to introduce his band, Dierks then talks for a while telling of how he's been singing Johnny Cash songs for many years and that it seemed appropriate to tribute the Man In Black with a cover of "Folsom Prison Blues." Somewhere along this time, Dierks' fan club members walked on stage to present him with a plaque and autographed guitar commemorating among other things, his success and hit single. KMPS was the first large market station to play Dierks' song "What Was I Thinkin'" on a regular basis.
Dierks finished his set with three great songs from his Capitol CD, "Whiskey Tears" sounds like it'd be a great third single from the CD while he told a story of how he's the son of an 80 year old WWII vet (Dierks is 27) and how he's proud to have his "Last Name." Written with Harley Allen, Dierks tells a beautiful story of how we should be proud of our last names. "My Last Name" was then announced as the second single. Closing out the show, Dierks talked about how David Allen Coe talked about the perfect country song. Dierks started out with a few bars from "You Don't Even Call Me By My Name" before switching course for his first hit single, "What Was I Thinkin'." He thanked the crowd for making the song No. 1.
Singing a nice set of 12 songs, Dierks showcased a dynamic stage presence that was enough for me to get his CD. I had liked the first single but waited on the CD but had to get it that night after hearing it. I have no doubts he'll be a big star since he's interested in singing country music. As a testament to his star potential, about 1/2 the crowd left the show after he was done, not staying to see Craig Morgan or Jessica Andrews. Missing Craig would turn out to be a mistake.
Set List:
- Bartenders, Etc...
- Forget About You
- Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
- I Bought The Shoes
- Lonesome On'ry And Mean
- I Wish It Would Break
- How Am I Doin'
- Midnight Radio
- Folsom Prison Blues
- Whiskey Tears
- My Last Name
- What Was I Thinkin'