Review: Alan Jackson still shows S.A. a good time

Review: Alan Jackson still shows S.A. a good time
By John Goodspeed- San Antonio Express-News

Attendance: Sold-out crowd of about 16,500

The show: With more than 35 No. 1 singles, Alan Jackson was shorter on time than material Wednesday night at the AT&T Center. He rolled off many of those hits with effortless power, from the energy rush of “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” and “Who’s Cheatin’ Who” to the heart-throbbing “Remember When” and the somber reflection on the 9-11 attacks of “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).” The fact that he was making his 15th appearance at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo was not lost on Jackson, either, who said, “I’ve played this thing as long as I can remember.” Part of the secret to Jackson’s popularity is his top-shelf eight-piece band, the Strayhorns. The other is that he does so well connecting with songs of everyday people, from family-oriented farmers and guys out for a good time to loving couples and a kid admiring his father.

The scene: The crowd definitely was set to march in Jackson’s hit parade. The cheers greeting familiar tunes were as loud as those between a few brief pauses. He was aw-shucks comfortable onstage, too, wearing a pale green-pearl snap shirt with a floral yoke, gray felt cowboy hat and jeans. Early in the show, he said, “I’m just going to bring you a bunch of songs about living and love. Get up in the aisles and drink and dance and do whatever you want.” There was a little drinking and a lot less dancing, but the audience was doing what it wanted: listening to a singer/songwriter who knows how to inspire emotions in well-crafted lyrics delivered by one of the most distinctive vocalists in country music.