This week, Brad Paisley transformed an ordinary Wednesday evening in London into a true American Saturday Night. The music was loud enough, the light show was bold enough and Brad was humble enough to immerse us in the true country experience. Work worries disappeared and the Nashville Skyline was back in sight.
It must have taken courage to book the O2, normally the haunt of rock super groups, but Brad owned the place on Wednesday night. It was a stage filled with fiddles, guitars, keyboards and drums blaring out new hits like This Is Country Music one minute, then the next, the band have disappeared – it’s just Brad and London.
He stands alone with his guitar, and of course his white cowboy hat, on a catwalk which brings him right out into the middle of the stalls against a starry backdrop and we know something special is coming. He speaks to us like we’re old friends; he makes light of the world recession but he shows sincere gratitude for us coming to see him. Every time he pauses for breath he teases us with a few notes on his electric guitar, slowly drawing us into what eventually turns into a beautiful rendition of She’s Everything. Being in the stalls and with everyone on their feet, I feel like I am in a small, crowded bar in Nashville: this is exactly the way you want to feel at a country concert and Brad knows it.
About half way though the concert he surprises us all when he mischievously hops down from the stage and, still playing Camouflage on a wireless guitar, he makes his way all the way around the perimeter of the arena, through the back of the stalls and up onto the smallest stage I’ve ever seen, seven rows behind me. He thanks us again for spending our money on coming to see him and his new position, close to the folks in the ‘cheap seats’ (as he put it) re-enforces his sincerity. The electric guitar is swapped for his acoustic and he shares his excitement at playing in London with us because, unlike his US fans, we don’t know what’s a hit and what’s not, we know them all cause we buy the albums. The lighthearted Cigar Song is followed by the sobering Whiskey Lullaby and as the crowd softly sing every word, this is the concert’s defining moment.
Throughout the gig he makes little references to being in London, even subjecting us to his cockney accent and the crowd are flattered but noone could have guessed what was coming. Just as we were beginning to wind down, the encore added a new dimension to the night as Rolling Stone, Ronnie Wood, graced the stage to accompany Brad on Let the Good Times Roll and the crowd-pleasing Alcohol.
The CMA Entertainer of the year reins supreme and we look forward to welcoming him back next year.
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