Concert Review: Rascal Flatts Thaw Out Tour: Charleston, WV
Thawing Out With A Group That Ain’t The Leavin’ Kind! Rascal Flatts Kick Off Their Winter Tour!
By Susan J. Yeager
The day Rascal Flatts rolled into Charleston, WV to kick off their 2012 “Thaw Out” tour, an article ran in the local paper that featured an interview with Jay DeMarcus. In this article, Jay talks about a time a couple of years ago when the super successful trio found out that their record label was closing. The trio had serious discussions about whether or not it was just time to go their separate ways or was there more music to be made together?
I couldn’t help but think of that article during the concert where you were hard pressed to find an empty seat in the venue. Well, actually, there were a lot of empty seats because the near-capacity crowd was on their feet through the entire Rascal set. It was a top-notch night of entertainment from start to finish.
Country music fans that hadn’t heard of newcomer, Hunter Hayes, won’t be forgetting his name or more importantly, his music, anytime soon. The Louisiana native showcased mad guitar skills from the get go, opening his set with a rockin’ number called “Love Makes Me.” He then went straight into the inspirational “Faith to Fall Back On.” The relatable “Somebody’s Heartbreak,” resonated with anyone who has ever wanted somebody in their life so badly, they didn’t care if it was for a minute or a lifetime.
Proving that he is of the social media generation, the talented musician took a video of the crowd to post on his Facebook page before moving to the piano. Slowing down for the only ballad of the set, Hunter proved just as efficient on the keys and at making all the women in the audience weak-kneed with “Wanted.” He finished his strong twenty-five minute set with his first single, the fun-loving “Storm Warning.” Making sure to stop and sign some autographs before he left the stage, the singer-songwriter-player made way for the next act.
Sara Evans went off the radar for a couple of years to focus on her family, but she came back “Stronger” than ever last year with a long-awaited return to country radio. She wasted no time taking the stage and reminding fans why they loved her so much in the first place as she barreled through hit after hit like “As If,” “Perfect” and “Born to Fly.”
The out-going singer spent most of her time on a part of the stage that extended as close to the fans as possible and shook hands and chatted easily about growing up on a farm. She treated the audience to fan favorites like “A Real Fine Place to Start,” “Coalmine” and “Suds in the Bucket.” Before “Suds,” she joked that she grew up pretty “redneck,” and that the boys in town would drive up the dirt driveway in their pick-up trucks wanting to date her and her sisters… but mostly her. She seemed real and genuine and the crowd seemed very happy to have her there.
She showcased her latest single, a remake of the Rod Stewart hit “My Heart Can’t Tell You No,” before delivering a powerful rendition of her comeback anthem “A Little Bit Stronger.” The latter went over very well with the attentive audience who was singing a long as loud as they could.
She wrapped up her time with the fans with the fitting “I Could Not Ask For More” and a cover of a rock and roll classic. We won’t give away all of the surprises. You’ll just have to see that one for yourselves.
The stage was reset. The lights dimmed and the Rascal Flatts’ band took their places. The crowd was already on their feet before Gary, Jay and JoeDon appeared at the top of three different staircases. There is a black and white motif for this tour and it is stunning! The trio kicked things off with the infectious “Why Wait” and then danced with the crowd though other hits such as “Me and My Gang,” and “Summer Nights.”
They slowed things down long enough to deliver a moving rendition of “Bless the Broken Road” during which Gary engaged the crowd in some Q and A. “Has anyone here ever been down a broken road?” Then they rocked through the inspirational “Stand!”
Jay took a turn chatting up the crowd and leading them in singing “Country Roads.” Gary and Jay’s Moms’ are from West Virginia so he proudly owned up to their West Virginia roots. Next up was the hit “Unstoppable,” followed by “My Wish.”
The spotlight turned back to Jay who proved to be just as talented tickling ivories as he is on bass guitar. He treated the crowd to a rousing rendition of “Piano Man,” before turning the stage over to Joe Don. The Oklahoma native paid tribute to his idol, Stevie Ray Vaughan, by absolutely tearing up a cover of “The House is Rockin’.”
Not to be out done by his band mates, Gary returned to share one of his influences with the fans and sang the heck out of Stevie Wonder’s “Sign, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).” The trio reunited to perform “Lonesome Road,” a song that they had written together while out on the road.
One of the highlights of the night occurred when the group launched into their latest hit “Easy,” a duet originally recorded with Pop artist, Natasha Bedingfield. For this live version, Gary welcomed Sara Evans back to the stage. The result was a chill-inducing version of the great song. It was almost worth the price of admission just to hear those two powerful voices come together like that. Everything else was just a bonus.
How do you follow that? You bring on one of your biggest crowd pleasers, “Life is a Highway” from the “Cars” movie. The gang and their way talented band breezed through a few more hits including the heart-wrenching “What Hurts the Most” before leaving the stage and returning for an incredible encore. We don’t want to give it all away, but let’s just say this class act was sure to include a worthy tribute to our Military personnel.
What stood out the most was how interactive the group was with the fans. They stayed as close to them as possible as often as they could. They shook hands and made eye contact with as many people as possible. After ten plus years, they clearly know who they are and who is buying the music. So as the thousands of satisfied customers poured out of the arena, I couldn’t help but think back to the newspaper article and the “what if” scenario, had the three music makers decided to pull the plug on this journey. The magic made in the arena that night would not have happened. The next time Rascal Flatts has a group meeting to discuss whether or not to disband, I hope they remember the first night of the “Thaw Out” tour in Charleston, WV. None of the rest of us there will be able to forget it anytime soon.
Check out these amazing acts on their official sites:
Rascal Flatts : rascalflatts.com
Sara Evans : saraevans.com
Hunter Hayes : hunterhayes.com
And follow everyone on Twitter:
Click on an album to purchase on Amazon.com or visit your local music retailer...titles are also available on iTunes!
