Since coming to Madison I have found that people who like country music are hard to come by. Last Thursday I was proven wrong as The Alliant Energy Center was filled just short of capacity by rowdy country music-loving fans for Brantley Gilbert’s Let it Ride tour.
The opening act was one of Brantley Gilbert’s co-writers, Brian Davis. He performed a short three-song set list. One was a song that he wrote with Brantley that didn’t make it onto the album, featuring just him and his acoustic guitar. Personally, I wasn’t all that entertained by Davis’ set because I felt the venue was too big for just a one-man-and-his-guitar show. His sound seemed lost and kind of distorted.
The next opener was a man named Chase Bryant, who I had the honor of meeting before the show. All the ladies in the room, including myself, were fired up as he took the stage to serenade us with his sweet southern-accented love songs. The song that really got the crowd going was the hit on his self-titled EP Change Your Name. Bryant is thought of in the country music industry as the next Hunter Hayes, with his good looks, sweet southern charm, and song lyrics that make young 20-somethings swoon. I really enjoyed his set, but felt that the men in the arena were unimpressed.
The final opener was Aaron Lewis, lead singer of the rock band Staind. Everyone in the arena got rowdy as he came onto the stage smoking a cigarette, with a red solo cup in hand. He then proceeded to make everyone recite the Pledge of Alleigance before he began his acoustic set. Throughout the set everyone became more and more excited and rowdy because Lewis was boisterous and enjoyed getting the crowd riled up with dirty jokes and conservative political remarks. He closed his set with an acoustic version of Staind’s biggest hit “It’s Been Awhile.” The arena echoed with the lyrics of this song as the crowd sang every word right along with him.
Finally, after a surprisingly short set change, the lights went back down as the screen fell and revealed country music’s notorious bad boy, Brantley Gilbert. Men and women alike screamed and cheered with joy as the three giant screens depicted fire and his band blew the roof off of the arena. The place felt like a rock concert mixed with a drunken backyard Fourth of July barbecue. Everyone was hoisting their drink in the air while head banging and screaming out the lyrics to every song—even the people who had seats were standing and singing. The lights and special effects matched every song which I found to be really original, and made the audience feel as if we were actually immersed into the song. During one of Gilbert’s most popular songs, “Small Town Throwdown,” Lewis and Bryant came back onto the stage to help him sing. He also covered Jason Aldean’s hit “Dirt Road Anthem,” which he actually wrote. But the best part of the show was when Gilbert introduced one of his songs on his latest album Just As I Am.
