Little Big Town kicks off ‘Breakers Tour’ with a roar and a hush
Little Big Town’s packed performance at the Chesapeake Energy Arena was decades in the making.
Early in the headlining set, the band hopped off the massive main stage, wove through the seated crowd and bunched together on a secondary, rotating stage nestled in the middle of the arena floor.
Indeed, the core quartet — consisting of singers Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman plus guitarists Jimi Westbrook and Philip Sweet — has been at it since 1998, and Feb. 8’s kickoff of the latest leg of the “Breakers Tour” painted the path that Little Big Town has taken to stardom.
Schlapman, bubbling with a personality as bright as her pink suit, thanked the crowd repeatedly between songs.
“You have no idea what you’re helping us celebrate, Oklahoma City. We used to practice just like this, the four of us in a living room,” she said. “We’re gonna cozy on up and play for you.”
Little Big Town has no shortage of crowdpleasing hits and several thousand concertgoers have them all memorized. “Better Man,” a Taylor Swift-penned track I first heard on the Grammy telecast last month, is a good example of the band’s tender side.
It’s a soft rocking number that’s actually only as country as the accent accompanying the pop-friendly number. “Better Man” reminds me of a beaming smile — with a few missing teeth. There’s not a ton of bite, but it remains a heartfelt gesture.
Every moment of every LBT song’s delivered with a relentless energy and those angelic harmonies. And that second stage did make things feel like a living room. It’s no simple task channeling intimacy in an arena, but Little Big Town has the recipe. Feb. 8 was a balancing act of quiet and loud performances, and they weighed out effortlessly.
Another highlight was when the band covered “Wichita Lineman.” Little Big Town dedicated it to Glen Campbell, who passed away in August. What a timeless number. The band didn’t mention who wrote it, but Oklahoma’s own Jimmy Webb composed the hit back in 1968. It sounded so fresh when Little Big Town slowed things down with the song.
“Girl Crush” was another highlight that lit up the tiny stage with countless cellphones desperate to capture the moment in grainy glory.
Little Big Town’s also gotta party mode, which comes out most clearly on “Day Drinking,” an upbeat number written specifically for a rowdy lake celebration. It’s harmless fun and little else. The band invited opening act Midland back onstage for the tune, but not before the Austin-band handed out Coors Banquet to the audience — an excellent beer selection, in my opinion.
“Look who’s out in the crowd!” Fairchild said. “It’s Midland! It’s always a party with these boys!”
Sure, but it feels like less of a party when you call it one. But again, that big energy helps stick the delivery and the crowd ate it — excuse me — drank it up.
Spacey Kacey
Kacey Musgraves fans were treated to a slew of new material from the Texas-born singer, and a lot of it went in new directions. “Velvet Elvis” rocked harder than anything on Musgraves’ latest two LP’s, and it reminded me of Miranda Lambert’s “Pink Sunglasses.”
That might have something to do with Oklahoma-born songwriter Luke Dick, who has writing credits on both tracks.
A couple of fresh Musgraves cuts have a bigger, synthesizer-friendly sound which’ll have an easier time filling the rooms she’s hitting this year. After this “Breakers” tour, she’s opening for Harry Styles on a number of summer concert dates.
Musgraves was a little stiff when she left the comfort of her guitar, but I see that fading away.
She’s got the pipes, slick backing band and glittering jeans to make that stadium transition. The massive rooms aren’t all that new either. Katy Perry recruited the Nashville-based singer to open for her years ago.
A sound opinion
Before the Austinbased trio could finish its set with the infectiously catchy “Drinkin’ Problem,” the band had to overcome another issue.
Midland persevered as the sound cut out twice during a song halfway through the set.
I’d never seen that at arena-level show, but what can you do but play on?
They didn’t miss a beat and continued like nothing had happened. A front of house sound issue, I understand.
My imagination suggested the band might’ve been playing to backing tracks, but the stage was swimming with mics, and the band’s publicist, who was in attendance, called me Friday morning to debunk that idea.
Regardless, it was a fun, spirited set, and it was made especially memorable because they played on that revolving mini stage. Many patrons ditched their sets to gather round and it made it easier to see — and soak in — Midland’s charm.