In his first show in the San Diego area following the pandemic, Gary Allan's fans proved to be as ravenous as ever for his music, selling out the Heritage Events Center at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon.
"It feels good to be playing this close to home," the La Mirada native noted, one of the rare moments he paused in between songs to chat, instead, letting the music speak for him. He also shared the comedic moment the buses they'd chartered from LAX for this west coast tour broke down, forcing Gary, his band and crew to travel via U-Hauls instead. In a more somber moment, he recalled that the pandemic had forced him to take a longer break than he'd ever had in his career up until that point, but also acknowledged that for some, the pandemic had had more dire consequences, as he led into "Life Ain't Always Beautiful."
He sprinkled in songs from his latest album Ruthless, like the cautionary "Waste of a Whiskey Drink" and the overt "Sex," unambiguous in meaning, but which sonically fit in perfectly with his more familiar material, including those signature guitar riffs and solos on songs like "Right Where I Need to Be" and "Songs About Rain." A shortened version of "Tough Little Boys" and the stripped down "The One" allowed for a more intimate feel, while signature songs like "It Ain't the Whiskey" and "Watching Airplanes" brought a close to a fantastic night of music.
Setlist:
1. The Hard Way
2. Right Where I Need to Be
3. Nothin' On But the Radio
4. Man to Man
5. Waste of a Whiskey Drink
6. It Would Be You
7. Guys Like Me
8. A Showman's Life
9. Temptation
10. Her Man
11. Tough Little Boys
12. The One
13. Sex
14. Smoke Rings in the Dark
15. Every Storm (Runs out of Rain)
16. Best I Ever Had
17. Ruthless
18. Songs About Rain
19. Man of Me
20. Get Off On the Pain
21. It Ain't the Whiskey
22. Watching Airplanes
