Any touring artist surely relishes the time spent at home, and Rascal Flattshave logged more miles than most in their 13 years on the road. So for their hometown stop Friday night (Oct. 19) on the ChangedTour 2012, the Flatts guys and their pals made themselves comfortable in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.
After setsfrom Little Big Town, the EliYoung Band and Edens Edge, Flatts filled the arena with layered vocalsand positive, peppy messages.
But before things got underway, a homecoming gift was presented signifying another milestonein Rascal Flatts' long career. Grinning for photographers backstage, the band grabbed hold of a giant ticket stub commemoratingtheir 7 millionth concert ticket sold.
Despite that long-term accomplishment and the name of the tour, though, theband's squeaky clean image and wide musical appeal hasn't really changed, and that's just fine with their fans.
Arrivingunder a neat beaded curtain of lights, the headliners launched into their recent hit "Banjo"as huge LED cubes descended from the ceiling to add to the visual excitement. With their wide catwalk, all three Flatts memberscan mosey out into the crowd at once, and they immediately did so, reaching out to grab the hands of fans squished up againstthe stage.
Working methodically through tracks like "SummerNights," "Fast Cars and Freedom" and "TheseDays," singer Gary LeVox had plenty of help from the eager audience who sang along with every chorus and frequently tookover when the front man offered up his microphone during almost every song's most memorable part.
As the band settledin, they began an easy dialogue between themselves and the Nashville crowd -- talking about being home, bassist Jay DeMarcuswhispering jokes to LeVox, some goofy dancing and talk-singing and of course, thanking all those fans for laying down theirhard-earned money.
After weaving a bunch of local flavor into the old "which side of the arena is the loudest" test,the boys started taking requests from the crowd. Who knows how they managed to hear over the rabble, but "My Wish," "Mayberry"and "Take Me There" were all played in shorter versions.
(Propsto Gary and Jay at this point for a little self-deprecating humor, asking fans to "please pick Rascal Flatts songs" and lamentingthat no, they do not "do the things that make the speakers go boom boom.")
As the set started to wind down the audiencewas treated to a few ear-pleasing covers (Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" and Journey's "Open Arms"), the warm/fuzzy feeling ofdestiny on "Blessthe Broken Road" and a guitar solo by Joe Don Rooney which led into "Meand My Gang" and included -- of all things -- a theremin.
As "Life Is a Highway" and "Here's to You" teased theend of the night, fans were whipped up into a frenzy but didn't have to wait long for the big finish, a moving performance