Brad Paisley brought his World Tour 2019 to FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine Saturday night (June 8th), and the new venue (temporary as it is) was clearly a joy for the "Mud on the Tires" singer to play.
"What a great thing that they have an amphitheatre for us to play at again," Brad exulted on stage, referencing the 2016 closing of Irvine Meadows.
The influence of '90s country was obvious among all the performers - from Brad's cover of Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochie," and opening acts Chris Lane's medley of '90s hits and Riley Green, who just sounds like he was plucked from that era and planted in 2019.
Brad Paisley is a triple threat, not only a singer but also a skifull guitar player and master lyricist with a wicked sense of humor. A life-sized bobble-head muppet in Brad's own likeness came out on stage during "Celebrity," and Riley Green and Chris Lane joined him on stage for "I'm Still a Guy," during which Brad pointed out that Chris' neon green shirt matched perfectly with the Staff Pro uniform, and directed any audience members with questions about the venue to ask Chris.
Brad invited four uniformed active service members on stage during "This Is Country Music," and noted that while we could never repay the debt that we have to them, asked if he could chip away at it by inviting them for a drink on stage.
He dedicated his latest single, "My Miracle," to the men who are better people because of a woman, and to the women who make them better men.
His acoustic versions of "Letter to Me," "She's Everything," and "Whiskey Lullabye" created an intimate feel, and as he played the poignant "Today," the screen displayed the date, reminding the audience to very much be in the here and now.
Highlights from Chris Lane's set included not only his hits, but also "Let Me Love You," which he described as, "One of my favorite songs that I've ever recorded," and which had the audience snging along to every word. Also, his invitation to a Grandma named Sally to join him on stage for "I Don't Know About You," had the crowd cheering, and at the end of the night, many people, recognizing her as she walked out of the venue, exhuberantly wished her a good night.
Riley Green performed his first #1 hit, "There Was This Girl," current single, "In Love By Now," and shared the new, and tearjerking, "Grandpas Never Die."
Setlist:
Brad Paisley:
1. Beat This Summer
2. Ticks
3. The World
4. Perfect Storm
5. Water
6. Then
7. Waitin' on a Woman
8. Celebrity
9. I'm Still a Guy
10. This Is Country Music
11. American Saturday Night
12. My Miracle
13. Last Time for Everything
14. Old Alabama
15. Letter to Me
16. Crushin' It
17. Time Warp
18. Hot for Teacher (Van Halen cover)
19. River Bank
20. Chattahoochee (Alan Jackson cover)
21. Whiskey Lullaby
22. She's Everything
23. I'm Gonna Miss Her
24. Mud on the Tires
25. Today
26. Alcohol
Chris Lane:
1. Fix
2. Broken Windshield View
3. Fishin'
4. Let Me Love You
5. I Don't Know About You
6. Medley: Should've Been a Cowboy (Toby Keith cover) / Watermelon Crawl (Tracy Byrd cover)/ Boot Scootin' Boogie (Brooks & Dunn cover) / Dust on the Bottle (David Lee Murphy cover) / Check Yes or No (George Strait cover) / I Like It I Love It (Tim McGraw cover) / Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks cover)
7. Take Back Home Girl
Riley Green:
1. Same Old Song
2. If I Was a Betting Man
3. Georgia Time
4. In Love By Now
5. Grandpas Never Died
6. There Was This Girl
