December 2, 2007
Green Bay Press Gazette
Nettles lights up night with nonstop smiles, energy
By Kendra Meinert
The cure for the common cold ... and snow ... and sleet ... and wind?
A dose of Jennifer Nettles.
On a night when a cover of "Life in a Northern Town'' seemed especially appropriate for the encore, the Sugarland lead singer radiated from the stage at the Resch Center like an irresistible ray of pop-country sunshine. For the 6,247 fans who braved Wisconsin's first winter storm of the season to get there on Saturday night, Nettles was their reward.
Not much wider than the mic stand in front of her and with the same kind of infectious effervescence as look-alike Kate Hudson, she was nonstop smiles and optimism and energy and twang for nearly 90 minutes, seemingly taking that whole "Twice the Speed of Life'' thing to heart. The closest thing to catching her breath came five songs in, when she said, "We've got a little snowstorm going on ... and this is the biggest crowd we've had the whole tour.''
With the weather talk out of the way, Nettles and her duo mate, equally wired guitarist/singer Kristian Bush, and their five-piece band put the accordion and mandolin to Beyonce's R&B hit, "Irreplaceable.'' It was a rootsy rendition that worked beautifully, as the arena erupted into a tangle of arms pointing "to the left, to the left.''
Nettles has a ferocious twang the size of Texas, and she let it run full throttle on feel-good fare like "Settlin','' "Something More'' and a smokin'-hot "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good).'' But she proved she can also rope it in when she needs to, showing restraint on powerful weeper, "Stay.'' Bush stepped in for Jon Bon Jovi on Nettles' duet with the rocker, "Who Says You Can't Go Home,'' as video footage of Green Bay landmarks played behind them. (The shot that got the biggest applause? A Brett Favre jersey.)
With about 7,000 tickets sold, weather did keep some ticket holders away from the CMT-sponsored tour, which featured support acts Jake Owen and Little Big Town. They didn't miss a lot from Owen. He has a substantial voice, and novelty songs like "Yee-Haw'' were crowd pleasers, but he has some work to do if he's going to distance himself from the pack of Nashville newcomers. Knocking off Keith Urban's look (and Tim McGraw's pinstripe pants) probably isn't the way to go about it.
But if the annual CMT road outing is designed to cultivate future arena headliners, count Little Big Town in. The four-part harmonies of Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Roads, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet made for some of the sweetest ear candy of the night. Think the Eagles, but with four people who look like they're having a good time shaking the tambourine on stage.
LBT volleyed the lead vocals around effortlessly -- Fairchild the harder bluesy edge, Roads the soft touch and Westbrook the country pillar -- but it was Sweet leading them into the shimmering harmonies of "Vapor'' and "Bring It on Home'' that stood out. Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way'' and the band's own knee-slapping, foot-stomping breakthrough, "Boondocks,'' to end the 45-minute set brought out a rousing standing ovation.
Two major albums into its career, LBT's sound still has an organic quality that distinguishes it from all the slick-sounding, overproduced acts Nashville likes to churn out. Here's hoping that doesn't change -- and that joining Sugarland and Owen for Saturday night's finale -- a cover of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me'' -- was just all in the spirit of being team players on the tour.
