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Gretchen Wilson at Gwinnett Arena
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She’s a bundle of pure redneck energy.
Gretchen Wilson proudly announced the redneck part in her phenomenal first hit (“Redneck Woman�), but the energy was obvious from cheapest seats in the house at Gwinnett Arena, where her first headlining tour landed on Wednesday night.
There was a power and potency in her live show that feels very contemporary, but she can belt out old school country with the best of them. On Wednesday night, she gave us Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)� and her own anti-cheating song “When I Think About Leaving� to prove it.
It was “Skoal Ring,� her ode to men with the tell-tale tobacco tin ring on their back pockets, that put the show into overdrive, though.
“We got in a little bit of trouble over this next song,� she announced from the stage, referencing the verbal spanking Wilson received from Tennessee’s attorney general, who was upset about the tune glamorizing smokeless tobacco. He was even more upset about her habit of pulling out a tin of Skoal during live performances of the song. She’s stopped bringing the tin onstage, but she’s not about to dispense with the tune. “We’re going to play it anyway … ‘cause that’s what rednecks do,� she told the crowd.
Along with that rebellious attitude, there’s a wide streak of rock ’n’ roll in this small-town Illinois woman. She travels effortlessly from the Billie Holiday-identified “Good Morning Heartache� to the bluegrass gospel classic “Working on a Building,� but after her beloved country, it’s the rock that fits her best. It takes guts to tackle guitar-heavy vocal workouts such as Heart’s “Barracuda� and Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,� but her powerhouse pipes did them justice.
After that one-two rock punch, she and her band launched into the title cut from her latest album, “All Jacked Up.� Except for the prominent fiddle, it wasn’t a long way from the classic rock we’d just heard.
The set ended there, but we hadn’t heard “Redneck Woman,� so the fans knew she’d be back. It didn’t matter. They hooted and hollered – and a few probably hey y’all’d and yee-hawed – at the top of their lungs anyway and she obliged with the song we’d all been waiting for.
Sometimes she was rowdy, sometimes she was reflective, but she was always captivating. Neither the Academy of Country Music nor the Country Music Association has nominated her for the entertainer of the year award, a category often dominated by men. That should change soon. It’s only a matter of time before she takes home that well-deserved honor.
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By Norm
April 6, 2006 8:44 AM | Link to this
I saw this concert on opening night in Dallas. Now, I’m a 70’s rocker from way back and have seen all the large arena shows. But this might have beent he BEST concert that I have ever seen!! If you closed your eyes and just listened to Barracuda, you’d swear it was Heart themselves. Ann and Nancy should be very proud that Gretchen covered this so well. Kudos to Gretchen’s guitar player as well… he’s excellent.
Gretchen is SOOOO hot. She’s just bought a few horses for her new ranch… and she is welcome to come ride at my hunter/jumper barn ANY day!
If you haven’t seen this concert… it’s definitely a MUST!
Regards ya’ll, Stormin