On Wednesday night, we got a little 865 in the 412.
Morgan Wallen, the pop/country superstar from eastern Tennessee, was back live in our area code for the first time since 2019, when he was at the arena to open for his buddy, Luke Combs.
Now, with a few more monster hits under their belts, both young guns have blown up to become stadium headliners.
Last summer in Burgettstown, the 724, Wallen was greeted like The Beatles in 1964. On Wednesday at PNC Park, the sold-out crowd on the first night of a two-night stand was even more ecstatic for a long-awaited show that went on sale in December and was bumped out of June when his vocal cords said “hell naw.”
Wallen, in a long-sleeved white T-shirt, khakis and backwards cap, made the same entry he did at Star Lake, cranking “Broadway Girls” over the PA and coming out — after band introductions (weird) to Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius” — with “Up Down” to start a 23-song set in a brief drizzling rain.
“We haven’t gotten a chance this year to play in the rain like this,” he said. “I kinda like it. If I bust my ass…”
It seemed to spark a memory of him playing Jergels one night about six years ago on a snowy night, unsure of how they ever made it home.
When it comes to artists who have stirred up some kind of controversy, especially the country ones like Wallen, music critics like to play up the faults rather than the strengths. Not long after a New York Times review of “One Thing at a Time” that dwelled upon its dedication to formula — in spite of there still being great songs — a Boston Globe review of the Fenway Park show suggested that he pretty much went through the motions live.
I’ll disagree with that. Wallen didn’t lack for energy — he was weaving, bobbing, crouched down, red in the face — and over the sound of his crack band, the sandy, gritty, twangy vocals from the records is what boomed out of the speakers at PNC.
The pace was steady with a perfect blend of ballads (“Chasin’ You,” “Everything I Love”) and bangers (“Still Goin’ Down,” “Ain’t That Some”), some with a little of that quick country hip-hop in the verses. What he does with the phrasing on his lyrics is top notch and a natural gift.
Even though Jason Isbell wrote him off in 2021, Wallen packed all the needed emotion into the Alabama songwriter’s angst-filled ballad “Cover Me Up” and turned it into a soaring stadium anthem. Same with “Sand in My Boots,” one of his standout heartbreak ballads, performed on piano.
Whatever kind of song it was, the words were being shouted back at him by the fans, many of whom were letting the liquor talk.
Over the past two years, Wallen’s churned out about 70 songs, ensuring that everyone went home without hearing a favorite or two.
My two cents is that “865,” “Beer Don’t” and “Country A$$ S—t” would all be fun live. Late in the set he did serve up the “Dangerous” highlights “This Bar” and “More Than My Hometown.”
Returning in a Pirates cap and custom yellow PGH jersey — sporting No. 7 — Wallen climaxed the evening with a three-song encore that included the biggest hit of the year, “Last Night,” and one of the songs that broke him, “Whiskey Glasses.”
It ended with a blast, literally and figuratively, before the fans staggered out, all ready for tomorrow to talk about last night.
Parker McCollum, following Bailey Zimmerman and Ian Munsick, thanked Wallen for the opportunity, saying he didn’t need anyone else on the bill to sell tickets. McCollum, touring on his fourth album, made the most of it with gems like his own “Burn it Down” and “Pretty Heart” and Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road.”
Set List:
Broadway Girls
(Lil Durk song)
Up Down
I Wrote the Book
One Thing at a Time
Everything I Love
’98 Braves
You Proof
Ain't That Some
Sunrise
Still Goin Down
Chasin' You
Cover Me Up
(Jason Isbell cover)
Thought You Should Know
Sand in My Boots
Thinkin' Bout Me
Cowgirls
(with Ernest)
Whiskey Friends
This Bar
Wasted on You
More Than My Hometown
The Way I Talk
Encore:
Heartless
Last Night
Whiskey Glasses
First Published: August 31, 2023, 3:21 a.m.
Updated: August 31, 2023, 3:37 p.m.