Martina McBride and Trace Adkins shone brightly for their Oklahoma City audience Saturday night.
Between McBride’s powerful voice and sassy energy and Adkin’s rowdy honky tonk and heartfelt ballads, the pair’s Shine All Night tour seemed to thrill the near capacity Ford Center crowd.
The show opened just after 7:30 p.m. with an Adkin’s video that wrapped as he rose from below center stage to the rollicking show opener, “I Got My Game On.”
“You ladies better watch out tonight,” Adkins teased the crowd before singing “Swing.”
The ladies in attendance seemed appreciative of the sentiment, as the big, tall cowboy in his black hat, button-down shirt, boots and jeans moved seductively about the stage.
Adkins is a big man with a deep, rich voice and a big presence, and his band is wonderful. While his first three songs were rockers, he slowed things down a bit for “I Wanna Feel Something.”

And so his hour-long performance went: a few hard-hitting songs and then a few ballads. It’s almost as if he feels he has to give his fans what they’ve come to know him for — steamy hits such as “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” “Hot Momma” and “Chrome.” On the other hand, it seems he’s stretching for a bit more maturity with songs such as “All I Ask For Anymore” — nominated for two Grammies this year — and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers‘ Song of the Year winner “Your Gonna Miss This.”

Before Adkins played his encores, he told the crowd his reasoning. “I do a lot of songs that my mamma says, ‘You were raised better than that boy.’ And I was. So I do a song every now and then to let my mamma know I ain’t forgot.”

With that, he dedicated the song “Muddy Water” to his mamma. Backed by the Philip Thomas & Annointed Praise choir from Oklahoma City, the sinner turned saint sang about washing his sins away in the waters of baptism. He then ended his set with the Stevie Wonder classic, “Higher Ground,” a moving and spiritual tribute.

An intermission video highlighted loveisrespect.org, a national teen dating abuse helpline, promoted by McBride and her daughter, Delaney, and their My Time to Shine campaign. McBride’s road crew also kept the crowd entertained with dancing and some fly exercise moves while the stage was switched out. The team even pulled an audience member onto the stage giving her a chance to dance.

As the lights went out, dozens of images of hands clapping were projected onto the curtain-wrapped stage. McBride’s band rose from a smoke-covered riser. Then it was McBride’s turn to shine. Emerging from beneath the stage herself, she bounced into “Ride” off her latest album, “Shine.” The crowd went wild with applause and cheering and quickly began singing along.

McBride is energetic and flawlessly beautiful. She marched around stage in her silvery, gold shimmer vest, her leather trimmed breaches and her stiletto heeled rhinestone shoes, touting her big voice with its super wide range and her captivating lyrics. She kept the crowd entranced for more than an hour jumping between toe-tapping songs such as “When God-fearing Women Get the Blues” and “Happy Girl” to soul-searing numbers such as “I’m Trying” and “Walk Away.”

Particular crowd favorites were her new blockbuster hit, “I Just Call You Mine,” “Where Would You Be,” and “A Broken Wing.” She held notes on these songs to impossible lengths and the crowd responded by standing and cheering for equal time, rendering the singer almost speechless with her thanks.

In contrast to her powerful singing voice, when McBride speaks its almost the voice of a girl, and she’s hoarse, making it hard to believe she can deliver such strong performances night after night.

For the song “Concrete Angel” McBride was hoisted over her audience on a blue quarter moon. She then sang several songs from a smaller, second stage. “How do you feel about your seats now?” she asked the crowd at the back of the auditorium. Sounded like the people near her felt just fine. Then she quipped that now everyone can say they’ve officially been mooned by Martina McBride.

“Alrighty, let’s have some fun,” she said as she launched into “Love’s the Only House,” combining the song with the chorus from “Blessed.”

As she sang “This One’s for the Girls,” McBride marched back to the main stage by way of the audience, stopping to let girls of all ages shake her hand and sing into her mike.

Next she got her hoe down on with “You’re Not Leaving Me.”

From her “Timeless” record, McBride sang the old Kris Kristofferson song, “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” explaining it was a tribute to the classic country artists she grew up hearing. Accompanied by a pedal steel guitar, it was almost like sitting in a VFW in the 1970s.

“That’s some good country music right there,” she said, “Hell yeah.”

The song “Do it Anyway” became biographical with the lyrics “You can pour your soul out singin’ a song you believe in that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang. Sing it anyway.”

“I love singing,” she told her audience. From the reaction, they equally loved listening.

McBride grew bold during her final number “Independence Day,” throwing her mike stand down and marching back and forth across the stage as she sang about freedom from abuse. At the end of the anthem, streamers and confetti were shot over the audience.

For her encore, McBride came back on stage sporting a University of Oklahoma Sooners football jersey and sang the Journey cover, “Don’t Stop Believing,” giving Steve Perry a run for his money on who can sing this chorus more powerfully. She finished the evening with another cover, Bryan Adams‘ “Summer of ‘69,” telling the crowd it’s just a fun song to sing.

It will be a long time before the shine wears off this performance.

Contributing: Aleisa Rhoades for The Oklahoman

The show opened just after 7:30 p.m. with an Adkin’s video that wrapped as he rose from below center stage to the rollicking show opener, “I Got My Game On.”

“You ladies better watch out tonight,” Adkins teased the crowd before singing “Swing.”

The ladies in attendance seemed appreciative of the sentiment, as the big, tall cowboy in his black hat, button-down shirt, boots and jeans moved seductively about the stage.

Adkins is a big man with a deep, rich voice and a big presence, and his band is wonderful. While his first three songs were rockers, he slowed things down a bit for “I Wanna Feel Something.”

And so his hour-long performance went: a few hard-hitting songs and then a few ballads. It’s almost as if he feels he has to give his fans what they’ve come to know him for — steamy hits such as “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” “Hot Momma” and “Chrome.” On the other hand, it seems he’s stretching for a bit more maturity with songs such as “All I Ask For Anymore” — nominated for two Grammies this year — and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers‘ Song of the Year winner “Your Gonna Miss This.”

Before Adkins played his encores, he told the crowd his reasoning. “I do a lot of songs that my mamma says, ‘You were raised better than that boy.’ And I was. So I do a song every now and then to let my mamma know I ain’t forgot.”

With that, he dedicated the song “Muddy Water” to his mamma. Backed by the Philip Thomas & Annointed Praise choir from Oklahoma City, the sinner turned saint sang about washing his sins away in the waters of baptism. He then ended his set with the Stevie Wonder classic, “Higher Ground,” a moving and spiritual tribute.

An intermission video highlighted loveisrespect.org, a national teen dating abuse helpline, promoted by McBride and her daughter, Delaney, and their My Time to Shine campaign. McBride’s road crew also kept the crowd entertained with dancing and some fly exercise moves while the stage was switched out. The team even pulled an audience member onto the stage giving her a chance to dance.

As the lights went out, dozens of images of hands clapping were projected onto the curtain-wrapped stage. McBride’s band rose from a smoke-covered riser. Then it was McBride’s turn to shine. Emerging from beneath the stage herself, she bounced into “Ride” off her latest album, “Shine.” The crowd went wild with applause and cheering and quickly began singing along.

McBride is energetic and flawlessly beautiful. She marched around stage in her silvery, gold shimmer vest, her leather trimmed breaches and her stiletto heeled rhinestone shoes, touting her big voice with its super wide range and her captivating lyrics. She kept the crowd entranced for more than an hour jumping between toe-tapping songs such as “When God-fearing Women Get the Blues” and “Happy Girl” to soul-searing numbers such as “I’m Trying” and “Walk Away.”

Particular crowd favorites were her new blockbuster hit, “I Just Call You Mine,” “Where Would You Be,” and “A Broken Wing.” She held notes on these songs to impossible lengths and the crowd responded by standing and cheering for equal time, rendering the singer almost speechless with her thanks.

In contrast to her powerful singing voice, when McBride speaks its almost the voice of a girl, and she’s hoarse, making it hard to believe she can deliver such strong performances night after night.

For the song “Concrete Angel” McBride was hoisted over her audience on a blue quarter moon. She then sang several songs from a smaller, second stage. “How do you feel about your seats now?” she asked the crowd at the back of the auditorium. Sounded like the people near her felt just fine. Then she quipped that now everyone can say they’ve officially been mooned by Martina McBride.

“Alrighty, let’s have some fun,” she said as she launched into “Love’s the Only House,” combining the song with the chorus from “Blessed.”

As she sang “This One’s for the Girls,” McBride marched back to the main stage by way of the audience, stopping to let girls of all ages shake her hand and sing into her mike.

Next she got her hoe down on with “You’re Not Leaving Me.”

From her “Timeless” record, McBride sang the old Kris Kristofferson song, “Help Me Make it Through the Night,” explaining it was a tribute to the classic country artists she grew up hearing. Accompanied by a pedal steel guitar, it was almost like sitting in a VFW in the 1970s.

“That’s some good country music right there,” she said, “Hell yeah.”

The song “Do it Anyway” became biographical with the lyrics “You can pour your soul out singin’ a song you believe in that tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang. Sing it anyway.”

“I love singing,” she told her audience. From the reaction, they equally loved listening.

McBride grew bold during her final number “Independence Day,” throwing her mike stand down and marching back and forth across the stage as she sang about freedom from abuse. At the end of the anthem, streamers and confetti were shot over the audience.

For her encore, McBride came back on stage sporting a University of Oklahoma Sooners football jersey and sang the Journey cover, “Don’t Stop Believing,” giving Steve Perry a run for his money on who can sing this chorus more powerfully. She finished the evening with another cover, Bryan Adams‘ “Summer of ‘69,” telling the crowd it’s just a fun song to sing.

It will be a long time before the shine wears off this performance.

Contributing: Aleisa Rhoades for The Oklahoman

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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Martina, News, Performances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.