3/31/17
Pam and I went to see Eric Church play in Staples last night as part of his Holdin’ My Own Tour, and afterwards all we could say was, “Hallelujah!” He put on a spectacular show, opening with a cover of the late Leonard Cohen’s iconic song. He delivered a haunting tribute to the artist by playing the song in the dark, while a spotlight illuminated an empty circular area of the stage. The effect was as reverential as it was emotional.
Eric Church is not easy to pigeonhole. He is country, yet he isn’t. He is hard rock, yet he isn’t. He is bluesy, yet he isn’t. He is gritty, yet he isn’t. He is
sappy, yet he isn’t. He is modern, yet he isn’t. He is pop, yet he isn’t. He is outlaw, yet he isn’t. He is southern rock, yet he isn’t. This makes some sense, as his musical influences range from Hank, Jr. and Merle Haggard to Metallica and AC/DC. After his performance last night, we decided he is just damn good and do not care if he is genre conflicted.
Eric Church did not have an opening act. He played for about three hours, singing over 30 songs, and taking a 20 minute intermission. He also took a few breaks to down some Jack Daniels, which he clearly enjoys. I guess when one of your songs is titled Jack Daniels you might have a propensity for drinking it on stage.
We loved it that he did not have an opening act. Very few artists play a show without one. A show like that is reserved for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, who defines the standard by which I measure all other live performances. And Eric Church’s performance ranked right up near the top. As one of his hit songs is named Springsteen, it should not have come as a surprise that he would emulate the Boss, and deliver a marathon concert.
Vocally, he was off the charts, demonstrating over and over again just how good he sounds live. He had total command of the stage, which was starkly minimalistic in its decoration, enabling us to focus on his music. He swaggered. He screamed. He showed passion and emotion. He communicated and connected with the audience. It was obvious when he was pumped up, and he inspired the audience to echo his energy. He even challenged us to hang with him all night, as he was giving it his all and he expected us to do so as well. Eric Church exemplifies why Pam and I go to see shows. No record ever recorded and no video ever produced can duplicate the euphoric feelings evoked by attending a live show, and last night we saw a great one. Just like Bruce, Eric Church’s recorded music pales when compared to seeing and listening to it live.
With a 30+ song set list, the show included most, if not all, of his great songs, including Mistress Named Music, Drink In My Hand, Mr. Misunderstood, Like a Wrecking Ball, Smoke a Little Smoke, Pledge Allegiance to the Hag, Record Year, Kill a Word, Three Year Old, and Springsteen, just to list several of them. He also covered I Love LA, the Randy Newman song, to pay tribute to the Los Angeles audience. Some of his best moments where when he was singing with only his acoustic guitar keeping him company. When his band was playing, they were seriously good, and he sounded great with them. His sound mixers did a great job balancing the vocals and the other instruments to yield a near perfect concert experience. Adding to our enjoyment was Joanna Cotton, a backup singer who provided a seriously gritty and soulful delta dimension to several of the songs.
As we decided to buy the Eric Church tickets months ago and as we did so at my urging, I knew I would not need tequila or doughnuts before the show to induce me to see it. After seeing it, my only quandary was whether I would have to drink some Jack Daniels as a toast to him before we see him again. And we will see him again.