Luke Bryan is no doubt one of the current kings of Nashville but his live "Huntin', Fishin' and Lovin' Everyday" concert, which made a stop at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena Friday, is anything but a country hoedown.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to call Bryan’s show the loosest, loudest and most genial keg/dance party ever. To make the comparison even more apt, at one point in the middle of the concert Bryant pulled out of a cooler placed on stage several cans of Miller Lite and tossed them into the adoring crowd. To the nine thousand plus fans on hand for Bryant’s show, they shed no tears for lack of genuine country authenticity – one the contrary, they were screaming for Bryan’s numerous hits and singing and dancing along at every opportunity.
That said, there were trappings of old school country here and there. Bryan’s backing band, powered by guitars and drums, did feature on occasion a bit of fiddle and pedal steel. However, Bryan’s big hits, such as the opening number, “Move,” were cranked up energize the arena, which they easily did. Bryan, as is his norm, wore blue jeans, a black T-shirt and baseball cap. The cap was often turned backwards.
In concert, Bryan is a relaxed, sometimes outright goofy, presence. He made numerous references to the Razorbacks and even picked up from the crowd a baseball cap with a Razorback logo on it. He joked that the hat was too small for him. Bryan also of course worked up what could be called Chipendales-light dance moves that particularly caught the attention of the female-heavy crowd.
Though the arena responded to oversized anthems such as “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” and “Kick the Dust Up,” the song “Fast,” which Bryan started out singing alone playing on acoustic guitar, was a highlight. The sentiment in “Fast” that time runs out before you know it is hardly a revelation but the simple and direct was it was communicated helped balance out Bryan’s goodtime dance party. Once “Fast” was done, the volume was jacked up again and the celebration continued into the night.