On Friday, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre hosted three country music acts — Brett Young, Kelsea Ballerini and the headliner Lady Antebellum — and while these entertainers were not traditional country singers like George Strait, Merle Haggard or Dolly Parton, they did represent the country-pop genre quite well. The crowd was mixed with both the younger and older generations who were, of course, adorned in the standard cowboy and cowgirl attire.
There were more boots in Tampa last night than this writer has seen in a lifetime growing up and living in the state of Nebraska. In fact, boots have never been on these feet because my Grandmother (a rancher) called boot-wearers that were not ranchers "dime store cowboys" and as a city slicker, growing up in a town of one thousand people, it was not acceptable for me to have a pair. Certainly not the proper footwear to accompany a dress outside of a rodeo dance; with shorts or a romper, forget about it.
The setup was not the normal stage, it included three small walking areas and a pit for the crowd to gather around the entertainers and touch the hands of the singers, pass cell phones for selfies back and forth, and of course, the boots. While the attraction to boots in the hot Florida weather is beyond my comprehension, one concert goer removed her boot and Brett Young autographed it while singing. The walks allowed for a very intimate setting when the country love songs were sung. Kelsea Ballerini even utilized the walks in her song “I Hate Love Songs.”
When thinking country music instruments, one always thinks about guitars; acoustic and steel of course as the stand out, but not at a Lady Antebellum concert. Lady Antebellum was introduced to the stage by a good old fashioned country duel; no not a gun duel like in the old TV westerns, it is a concert after all. It was a brass duel, trombone vs. trumpet. If you read my last Creative Loafing Tampa review, you will know that this writer is a sucker when it comes to horns. Charles Kelly even mentioned during the act, the horns have elevated their show.
The horns accompanied Lady Antebellum for several songs throughout the night. Not to take away from Lady Antebellum, who were very entertaining, but there is something about the horns that really got the crowd on their feet and screaming throughout the night. Hopefully, Lady Antebellum can find a way to add horns to the band permanently as the two of Friday night's players were on break from Justin Timberlake’s tour.
Speaking of the band, a highlight of the night was the introduction of the band. Charles Kelly introduced each member one by one and allowed each to have a short solo to show off their talents. There were applauses for all, but the top two were probably the drummer and guitarist that had his hair in braided pigtails. While the ears were being entertained by the band and the vocalists, the lighting for all three acts, most notably Lady Antebellum’s, kept changing to provide interesting backdrops as the show progressed. Lady Antebellum may have started as just three individuals on stage, but the addition of the band, horns, and lighting effects makes for a truly entertaining show.
At one point in the night, Lady Antebellum stepped away from the band and the horns to be the original trio that started it all off in 2007. The crowd really seemed to enjoy this stripped down portion, but have no fear, the band and the horns returned after just a few songs.
Lady Antebellum’s tour is titled “You Look Good World Tour” which indicates their popularity outside of the United States. This writer can attest Lady Antebellum’s video “Need You Now” was a played nearly 8,500 miles away from Nashville in Pune, India in 2010. As the song was rising in popularity in the United States, it was being played in India. Every time the TV was turned on in the hotel, to the only English channel, the video was played multiple times each hour which brought comforts of home to this writer. Although the channel was playing a current Lady Antebellum video, the video was usually followed by an aerobic workout video from the 80s.
Yes, you certainly remember the leg warmers, belts, wild print leotards, tights, scrunchy in the hair, big hair (or mullet), and a head band. Think Jane Fonda’s workout video. OK, enough of that blast from the past, without a doubt Lady Antebellum, Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young entertained everyone last night; those wearing boots and those in the standard Florida footwear — flip flops.
