Review: Brooks & Dunn

Photos by Sue Pfannmuller/Special to The Star

The title of Brooks & Dunn's hit song "Hillbilly Deluxe" serves as an apt description of the country music duo's approach. Raw yet refined, the deceptively nuanced songs of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn have served as radio staples for the past two decades.

The pair's final tour, dubbed the Last Rodeo, corralled an audience of approximately 15,000 to the Sprint Center on Friday. While men occasionally shouted encouragement to the band, the audience was dominated by demonstrative women eager to bid the pair a fond farewell.

"I don't know if we'll ever get back together and have a reunion tour," Brooks explained.

 As they alternated lead vocals, each man playfully ribbed his collaborator about the personality clashes that contributed to their forthcoming dissolution. In this context, material like "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" took on new meaning. The evening's sentimental nature was enhanced by an impressive multimedia presentation. Between faithful recreations of familiar hits and enormous screens showing a live video feed of the band, the action on stage resembled a giant video jukebox with an overtaxed sound system. The mix gradually improved as the night progressed, but the efforts of Brooks & Dunn's ten-piece backing band were obscured by a dull monochromatic blare.

The evening's most effective selections, consequently, were two hushed ballads. Brooks' tender ode to a rodeo bull was remarkably transfixing. "Believe," Dunn's homage to religious faith, was similarly compelling. Most of the other 16 songs the band performed focused on love, dancing and celebrations of rural life. Unflaggingly reassuring and optimistic, the band's winning formula most engaged the audience during "Play Something Country," the patriotic "Only in America" and the anthemic "Red Dirt Road."

 

While the band performed everything with flair, its 100-minute outing omitted many chart toppers including "Neon Moon" and "Brand New Man." Much of the audience responded with disbelief when the lights went up after the single-song encore of "Boot Scootin' Boogie." As they shuffled out of the arena, many exasperated fans were heard compiling lists of hits they didn't hear.

The absence of a few fan favorites was slightly more acceptable from featured opening act Gary Allan. Still, it was surprising that Allan emphasized upbeat material in his 50-minute set. While happy songs like "Nothing On But the Radio" were unremarkable, Allan's readings of painful songs of heartbreak like "Kiss Me When I'm Down" and "Songs About Rain" were brilliant.

As he closed with "Watching Airplanes," a wrenching hit about lost love, Allan was upstaged by a well-trained dog that bounded onto the stage. Its presence helped the audience forget about not hearing a few of their favorite songs. Should they reunite, Brooks & Dunn might consider adopting Allan's trick.

Tyler Dickerson: Deftly working from the Taylor Swift playbook, Tyler Dickerson repeatedly reminded the audience that he was just 16 as he ran his fingers through his long blonde hair.

BROOKS & DUNN SET LIST: Play Something Country; You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl; Mama Don't Get Dressed Up For Nothing; Put a Girl In It; You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone; Ain't Nothing 'Bout You; Last Rodeo; Lost and Found; That's What She Gets For Loving Me; It's Getting Better All the Time; Cowgirls Don't Cry; My Next Broken Heart; Red Dirt Road; She Likes to Get Out of Town; Believe; Rock My World (Little Country Girl); Only In America; My Maria; Boot Scootin' Boogie

GARY ALLAN SET LIST: Get Off On the Pain; She's So California; A Feelin' Like That; Nothing On But the Radio; Learning How To Trust; Best I Ever Had; Her Man; Kiss Me When I'm Down; Right Where I Need To Be; Songs About Rain; Man of Me; Watching Airplanes

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Radio]

""As they shuffled out of the arena, many exasperated fans were heard compiling lists of hits they didn't hear. ""

That is too bad:(

but I suppose this should be expected when a band, or duo, who are sick of each other and playing music decide ( or are convinced by "handlers") that they should head out on the road for ONE LAST MONEY GRAB.

The fans are the ones who (feel) are cheated, and it leaves a bitter taste.... which may hurt sales on their reunion tour in 2015, but I bet the sheeple will still pay up again.

btw-
Another 15,000 sellout? Wow, I am starting to think this whole recession ("bad times) thing is only affecting certain groups (like the middle class)( who are dying away) while the rich(and super rich) seem to be doing doing fine, actually doing better than ever.

Just read where there were more millionaires created last year than ever before.

Strange times we live in, I wonder how it will end?

[Play Something Country!]

loved it! fantastic concert!

looks like St Louis got pretty much the same show

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/reviews/article_cf3254fc-a2ec-11df-8b8b-0017a4a78c22.html

[Ed Holloway]

I know everybody's different but Gary Allen's set ruined the whole concert for me. Way, way to loud. Of course Allen really can't sing so the music has to be loud to cover that fact up.

[Play Something Country!]

are you serious??? How is that possible? I was on the floor, halfway back, sounded perfect!

[~GAnLucyFAN~]

Just because Gary Allan does not sound like EVERY OTHER artist out there today, does not mean he can not sing. That man has an amazing voice with raw emotion flowing from him. What you get from him on stage is real....Gary does it HIS way, that alone makes him one talented unique individual!

[kcpinetar]

I was on the front row in front of the extended stage where Brooks and Dunn stayed most of the night. The article failed to mention Ronnie Dunn's vocal problems. At one point, he told Kix Brooks to sing a song because his voice couldn't take it. Brooks looked at him saying, "Really." Dunn said, "I'm serious man" and went off stage. Dunn's voice was having serious problems by the end.

[Play Something Country!]

Whatever, anyone that went, and didn't have a good time, they suck, not Gary Allan or Brooks & Dunn.

If there were any complaints at all it would be that Brooks & Dunn didn't play long enough, BUT, they did play an hour and 45 minutes and I left there, along with thousands of others, thinking I had a very enjoyable evening and had gotten my moneys worth.