Concert Reviews

Martina McBride

Rosemont Theatre
Rosemont, IL
April 13th 2007

Concert Review by Darren O'Neill

Martina McBride Makes It Look Easy

The great ones always make it look easy. Ted Williams hitting a baseball, Tiger Wood making a 30 foot putt and Michael Jordan sinking a three pointer to win the game all come to mind. Last night at the Rosemont Theatre Martina McBride made it look easy.

On only the second night of the tour Martina and her band took everyone fortunate enough to be at the Rosemont Theatre on a musical journey through the past and present that never skipped a beat. Ok‚ she skipped one very small beat, but more on that later.

The stage setup was nothing short of amazing. Think U2 meets country cool. Large video screens behind Martina helped set a mood with every song whether it was just a pretty light show for some of the sing along songs or large WSM microphones which gave the classic songs a very Grand Ol’ Opry feel. It provided the perfect surroundings for Martina to show off her world class vocals.

Martina opened the show by simply entering from stage left and singing “Anyway,” the first single off of her new album Waking Up Laughing which just hit stores on April 3rd. It is a bold choice for a first song, as way too many artists think they need to get people up on their feet shouting and dancing with the first number of the night. Martina went her own route, as she usually does‚ and had the crowd in the palm of her hand from the very first note.

Anyone that’s ever heard Martina McBride sing knows she’s got as much vocal talent as anyone that’s ever graced a stage. What really impressed me was how she can totally transfix a crowd. She never appears to be a woman who has sung the same song a thousand times‚ she’s always right there in the moment living and breathing in the song. At the end of “Concrete Angel‚” a heartfelt song about child abuse’ it looked for a moment that she was about to shed a tear as the video screens around the theatre gave information about the child abuse hotline. Then, she looked truly humbled at the standing ovation she was receiving for the song. If anyone sings with more feeling and passion than McBride I want to know who they are.

After “Anyway” Martina launched into “When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues” which did bring the crowd to its feet‚ followed quickly by “Wild Angels” and “My Baby Loves Me.” Next up was a very touching rendition of “Trying to Find” which Martina cut with Keith Urban for her new album. Since Keith wasn’t around Martina’s brother Marty stood in admirably and joined Martina center stage to lend his vocals and guitar.

After a soaring “How I Feel,” which Martina told the crowd would be the next single from the album she launched into “Happy Girl” which has all the happy girls (and even some brave happy guys) dancing in the aisles.

Then Martina ventured back in time to cover some classic country hits like “Rose Garden,” “Thanks a Lot” and “Heartaches by the Number” before kicking it up a notch for the stretch run to the finish. From there on Martina rattled off her classics such as “This One’s For The Girls,” “A Broken Wing” and “Independence Day,” as well as a few new surprises like Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and closing the show with Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

That’s right; I promised you more on Martina skipping a beat. At one point during her hit “I Love You” Martina forgot the words. She smiled, looked back at her fiddle player Jennifer Wrinkle, and said “I forgot the words to the damn song!” It didn’t disappoint the near capacity crowd though, as that actually just sent them more into a frenzy when Martina asks at the end of the song “do you love me too?”

Overall the night was near perfect. I remember seeing Martina open up for Garth Brooks what seems like a lifetime ago. She was a bit hesitant and shy on stage back then, not moving around all that much. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her strut all over the stage in heels that would make most women cringe after about 5 minutes and totally control the crowd. I’ll come right out and say it; Martina McBride deserves a nomination for Entertainer of the Year this year. In my opinion, she deserves to win it hands down. The only reason I can see people not voting for her is that she makes it all look easy‚ almost too easy.

If she’s going to be anywhere near your town you will want to catch this show. You can check out Martina’s official website at http://www.martina-mcbride.com for a full listing of tour dates.