Today's Country
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Music/DVD Reviews
Contributed by: Robin Dolezal
The audience was waiting in anticipation for the opening of Sugarland. The night began as each member of the band walked on to the stage and pulled out a while umbrella from a trunk and walking back to their instruments. As the lights went down each member opened up their umbrellas to reveal each spoke being lit up by fluorescent light bulbs. As they set down the umbrellas to pick up their instruments Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush appeared center stage with their opening number “Love”. As the power duo sang the second verse of the song the stage lit up with a huge screen in the background displaying what looked like a superficial fireworks that displayed the words love, faith and hope. The song ended with Jennifer and Kristian performing their signature circling move as the last beat of the song lit up into the band’s symbol of a heart being held up by wings, which matches Jennifer’s tattoo on the inside of her upper right arm.
Jennifer then talked with the audience before transitioning into “Settlin’” and “Baby Girl”. Jennifer made an emphasis of singing the first line 3 times before Kristian played the second lick of the song on his mandolin and transitioned into the second verse. The screen in the background displayed baby pictures of all the band members when they were children giving the audience another form of entertainment. Kristian kept playing the mandolin as the song ended and the lights when down showcasing his ability as a musician and the strength he adds to the songs that have been memorized by millions of fans. After a 30 second interlude a spotlight came down on Jennifer and Kristian as they sang “Want To” as parts of their video was highlighted in the background.
Before starting up their 5th song of the night the band members started to blow bubbles into the audience which fans reciprocated, creating a tranquil and magical feeling within the arena. Jennifer then came out wearing a red sequined cap and held up an umbrella while singing the intro to “Nights Swimming”. Jennifer then walked towards the back of the stage twirling her umbrella the whole time and as she placed it on the ground to pick up her black guitar as the band led into “Joey”. Jennifer’s guitar strap had painted skull heads on it which fit the pirate like feel that matched her black sequined vest and tall black boots. There was a lot of participation from the audience which Jennifer addressed after the song by stating that since half of the audience were Baptists she knew the singing was going to be good.
The next song off of Sugarland’s setlist was “Already Gone” which high lighted the other members of the band playing their instruments and focused on Kristian playing the mandolin. As the song ended Jennifer commented on how that song was a serious song about breaking up and now they were going to focus on a fun song about breaking up to which she stated, “This is my proposal to Steve Earl”. Jennifer got the crowd pumping as she walked up and down the stage to sing to the fans in the first couple of rows while Kristian sat down stage left and gave his guitar pick to one of the lucky ladies in the audience.
As the lights went down Jennifer and Kristian were center stage playing the opening chords for the next song. As the sounds from the guitar and mandolin played out a tune Jennifer and Kristian synchronized the beat by stomping their feet that echoed in the arena. The rest of the band circled around them with their instruments in one hand and an umbrella in the other. The umbrellas were set down in the middle of the circle as they all jumped in to sing “Genevieve” in perfect acoustic sound and harmony. You could tell by the positive expressions on everyone’s face just how tight the band is and how well they get along as their smiles and enthusiasm resonated from one person to the next. The band then transitioned into “All I Want To Do” as Jennifer and Kristian once again took center stage and created a laid back beach effect by showcasing their video in the background. As Jennifer and Kristian danced their own version of the Hawaiian luau they asked the audience to participate in the chorus.
The stage then went black as the band played music with a slight techno feel while the fans lit up their glow sticks which gave off enough light to show the many fans that joined the band on stage for the intro to “Everyday America”. Again, Jennifer asked the audience to participate in singing the “whoa whoa” line of the song and proceeded to have a sing off between the ladies and the gentlemen. Jennifer began to ask the audience about drinking and feeling lucky to which the audience responded with a “whoa whoa”. When the song ended the lights went down and the music stopped. The dramatic effect of this built up as Kristian played the first 4 notes on his acoustic guitar which lead Jennifer into singing “I’ve been sitting here staring at the clock on the wall” the first line in the highly popular and ever moving “Stay”. The audience cheered and sang along through the whole song. It was good that Jennifer’s sound team knew to turn up her microphone for those only interested in hearing Jennifer’s voice belt out her power ballad. The emotion of that song could still be seen in her eyes along with all the many fans wiping away the tears from their face.
When the song ended Jennifer immediately switched gears and informed the audience that the next song was for the ladies in the house. “It’s about 3 women fed up with their lives and are headed for the gambling tables for a girl’s weekend”. “Down In Mississippi” brought up the excitement from the crowd as every lady mimicked the lyrics with attitude. The second to last song of the night was R.E.M.’s cover song “The One I Love”. The beat was slowed down to allow Jennifer and Kristian to sing an acoustic version of the song while playing their instruments. The song opened up with Kristian singing the first verse while Jennifer sang background vocals and then transitioned into Jennifer singing the second verse while Kristian sang the background vocals and then they came together in perfect harmony to end the song on note that waivered into the arena as the audience cheered for more.
Jennifer and Kristian exited the stage but emerged behind a curtain in transparent life-sized gerbil balls which they rolled off the stage and into the audience for a couple of minutes before making their way back to the stage. Jennifer addressed the audience one last time by commenting on the fact that their fans tell them all the time how lucky they are to go out on the road and play their music. “Do you know what I say to them when I hear that? Damn Right!” The night ended with the song “Something More” as Kristian introduced Jennifer and Jennifer introduced Kristian. The crowd was screaming hoping for more music and entertainment from Nashville’s power duo. They walked towards the back of the stage where you can see them stepping up to the drummer’s block and jumped off on the last beat of the song signaling the end of the show.
This concert was so entertaining but not just by the choice of songs that were sung, but also by the energy and sound the musicians add to each and every song. Jennifer’s voice is so powerful and bold it sends shivers up your spine but also does the vocals and musicianship of Kristian Bush. The chemistry between Jennifer, the voice of Sugarland, and Kristian, her right hand man, gives off a feeling of compatibility and comfort which only adds to the feeling that this power duo is unstoppable. With Jennifer’s voice and Kristian’s musicianship I am honored to make this DVD a part of my collection.
