ERIC CHURCH PLAYS PECHANGA
How different is the hard-rocking Eric Church from other country music stars? Last year, he posed for the cover of a national weekly magazine while getting a COVID-19 vaccination. This year, he canceled his sold-out April 2 concert in San Antonio so he could instead attend a Final Four college basketball match in New Orleans. As a songwriter, Church addresses issues few country artist go near, be it the death penalty (“Lightning”), a teen couple awaiting the results of a pregnancy test (“Two Pink Lines”) or the pain hateful rhetoric can cause (“Kill a Word”). When the mood strikes, he’ll do songs by artists from the city he is playing in (Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and Nelly’s “Country Grammar” and “Ride Wit Me” at his March 12 concert in St. Louis). So, what “San Diego songs” might Church do for his concert tonight at Pechanga Arena? Here are some suggestions: Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade,” Rosie & The Originals’ “Angel Baby,” Jack Tempchin’s “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” JJ Cale and Eric Clapton’s “Road to Escondido” and, of course, Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-GaddaDa-Vida.” Since Church’s April concerts have featured a Bruce Springsteen classic each night immediately preceding Church’s 2012 hit “Springsteen,” he could up the ante here by singing The Boss’ “Balboa Park” and “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” the latter of which includes the choice couplet: “I know a pretty little place in Southern California, down San Diego way ...” 8 p.m. today. Pechanga Arena, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway District. $34 to $164. axs.com