George Strait at the Prudential Center March 1st may not be the best concert of 2014, but it is ansolutely the most important one. The greatest, maybe second greatest (Vince Gill, a toss up, though I bet Vince is better live) country singer not in his 70s, makes a rare area appearance. I’ve had my eyes out for him for years but he never gets closer to NJPAC.
So is he worth going. Yeah, the man is better than ever, both of his last two albums were excellent, and if you were a big time country fan and cared to claim Love Is Everything is the best album of 2013, I might not agree but cmon, it sure ain’t Bakersfield.
Though he used to be only an occasional songwriter, since his son Bubba started writing with him on a regular (the also awesome Troubadour album), Strait’s songwriting has gone from strength to strength. The voice, the cowboy with a pick up truck, the gentlemaniness, the harking to days and country long gone. He is just about with peer, at least he sure ain’t looking longingly at Eric Church’s career.
Sadly, I have been less than thrilled by the live on film performances I’ve seen by the great man. He is quiet, quietly cold, and somewhat introverted on stage and that’s what stops me from calling Strait at the prudential simply the greatest show of 2014. However, to add to the buzz, Strait has announced that this is his farewell tour, a terrifying though that he would leave us to the tender mercies of Luke Bryan.
But here is another question: who is bigger?
A must see and then some.