Alan Jackson in Iowa

Alan Jackson was one of the country artists I first became familiar with when I finally became aware of modern country music rather late in life. When I was growing up in Chicago country music was not on my radar! I had a chance to see Alan  perform a set at CMA Fest a few years ago, but had never had the opportunity to attend one of his full concerts. But recently I ended up seeing not one but two of his shows in a short time span.

I first bought a ticket to his concert in Des Moines when I had to be there for a conference anyway. I had a seat rather far back on the floor, so didn't have a great view, but very much enjoyed the long string of familiar hits that Alan performed. His show is definitely a warm, fuzzy, feel good show, with his wonderful slow, southern drawl telling touching tales between numbers. He almost never moved from center stage where he stood or sat, but since I mostly had to watch the video screens that wasn't a problem.

Not long after the Des Moines show there was an announcement at my university that Alan Jackson would be playing on campus! Even though I had just seen him, I always feel like I should support concerts on campus. In addition, our basketball arena is much smaller than the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, so I thought a little more intimate concert might provide a different experience.

I got a good first row riser seat close to the stage and was excited to see a catwalk at either end of the stage, on of which ended just 5 feet in front of me.His set list was much the same as in Des Moines but you can help but enjoy all those number one hits from over the years. I kept waiting for Alan to venture out on the catwalks, but again he really stayed close to that center stage territory, never really focusing his attention on the stands to either side. It wasn't until the encore and his final goodbyes that he VERY briefly ventured out on the catwalk on my side, slapping a very few hands before making a quick escape back off stage.

Maybe after all these years of performing he no longer feels the need to physically interact with his fans. While his storytelling was warm and friendly, his behavior was definitely more remote than what I am used to with younger country stars. I guess this was also the case at his Meet & Greet. I happened to be sitting next to a gal with a Meet & Greet Pass, so asked her how she enjoyed it. She was rather disappointed, saying the Meet & Greet had been nothing more than an extremely rushed quick handshake and being handed a glossy photo of Alan - no song or conversation - just the bare minimum of interaction.

Des Moines Show

A bit of She’s Got the Rhythm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcUBCWft1KI

You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=qtt0cxbLs9Q

Cedar Falls Show 

A bit of Livin’ on Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfNs9poepl8

Remember When

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXRoDzml0w