SteelTownRock.com - Pittsburgh's New Music Authority - Live Concert Review-Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Halfway to Hazard-Post Gazette Pavilion-7.6.08

Concert Review-Tim McGraw-Pittsburgh, PA There were no elaborate stage sets or pyrotechnic visual effects in Burgettstown on July 6, 2008. As Tim McGraw says in his latest hit "Kristofferson," this country music is "straight up, genuine and real." McGraw concluded his Live Your Voice Tour at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in front of thousands of screaming country fans. In his first solo concert tour in three years, Tim McGraw handled being on stage without wife Faith Hill very well. In fact, so well that he successfully mixed elements of country, rock and pop sounds that kept a rowdy crowd on its feet.

As the lights dimmed and his 10-member band tweaked their instruments and tiptoed to their places, a beaming McGraw, in his familiar attire of a black cowboy hat and tight jeans, came to the center of the stage. He reverently bowed and extended himself sincerely: �My name is Tim McGraw and I�m yours for the evening. The louder you get, the longer we play.� The crowd, dominated by women of all ages, went wild.
To evoke shrieks and shrills, he doesn�t have to do too much. A few deadpan words, a pelvic thrust here and there, or some poised movement with the microphone will do the trick, because his faithful and devoted fans come soaked in passion for their icon every night of every year. McGraw touches a seminal emotional nerve for country-rock fans, females in particular. It certainly wasn�t any different on this night, as country�s multi-platinum man belted out tune after tune confidently and flawlessly during his 90-minute set in front of a near-capacity crowd.

Musically speaking, McGraw isn�t about a whole heap of improvisation or risk-taking. He is about smooth and smash best-selling albums. On this night, he treated his ever-widening fan base to some new tunes, including the set-opener and beautiful ballad �Still,� as well as the rough and rowdy �Southern Voice,� which certainly riled up the audience, even though hardly anyone knew the words. Of course, he relied on the hits as well. The crowd favorites and �oldies� classics �I Like It, I Love It� and �Something Like That� were sing-along highlights, as was the controversial tune �Indian Outlaw� and the pretty tune �Kristofferson,� which displayed his pop crossover transition. Concert Review-Tim McGraw-Pittsburgh, PA

Concert Review-Tim McGraw-Pittsburgh, PA

There was a rousing honky-tonk and country-rock ending to the show, during which McGraw sang time-tested favorites �How Bad Do You Want It� and �Real Good Man.� Other standout emotional headlining moments from the show included heartfelt performances of �If You�re Reading This� and �Live Like You Were Dying.� The astonishing 5-song encore capped off the night, and tour, with an exclamation point. Once again, country music�s soulful rocker didn�t disappoint, leaving the stage to a standing ovation of over 20,000 screaming McGraw-aholics.

'Relentless' hard country rocker Jason Aldean�s set was dominated by hard core electric guitar and sterilized energy. The Macon, Georgia native rocked through a set that seemed slightly too long for an opener. He equally divided his performance between his two discs, treating the fans to motivated performances of his top hits, including �Hicktown,� �Amarillo Sky,� �Why,� and �Johnny Cash.� One of the highlights of his set was an intensely delivered version of �I Won�t Back Down,� a Tom Petty tune that Johnny Cash recorded. This united the entire audience and had everyone singing along and swaying back and forth early and often. The set built towards the end and got better and better. Jason didn't move around too much at first but by the time he ended with his first single "Hicktown," he was moving all over the stage and showing off his energetic side. Aldean�s Concert Review-Tim McGraw-Pittsburgh, PA

performance was impressive, but it could have been improved a great deal by toning down the electric guitars a bit. The tough yet soothing melody of his voice was completely drowned out by the raging guitar rifts, although not too many audience members seemed to notice.

Kentucky natives Halfway to Hazard offered more of a southern rock type set more than a country music performance, but they got the crowd up and dancing nonetheless. Having opened up for Tim McGraw alongside Faith Hill on Soul2Soul 2007 last year, H2H seemed to be aware of what made McGraw�s fans tick, and they played into this very well. Offering their 2 top 40 hits �Daisy� and �Devil and the Cross� amongst constant shout-outs and seemingly unannounced guitar solos, Chad Warrix and David Tolliver impressed the audience with their unprecedented energetic performance, which set the tone for the entire evening, one great night of country music.