In what would be his last-ever show in Hartford, George Strait performed for over two hours at the XL Center, touching on all aspects of his legendary career.
George Strait
HARTFORD _ For more than two hours on Saturday night country star George Strait worked through a comprehensive musical retrospective on his 30-plus year career touching on old, new, and everything in between in front of a sold out house at the XL Center.
While it might seem near-impossible to trim a legendary catalog into a single performance (Strait has more than 50 Number One country singles), Strait somehow managed to satisfy everyone who had come to watch his “Cowboy Rides Away” tour, the one he says will be his last.
Strait was sentimental only on occasion during the night, specifically when he reprised his crowd tribute “I’ll Always Remember You” near the end of the set.
“When I wrote this two years ago I wasn’t thinking about not touring,” he said. “I just wanted to write about how much you all mean to me.”
The performance started with a lengthy (out of necessity) video tribute of Strait’s hits and awards-show acceptance speeches along with taped testimonials from Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, and Alan Jackson.
Strait entered the arena from the side, walking to a center stage like a heavyweight champ entering the ring. He performed “in-the-round” during the night, most often performing two songs at a time to each side of the room. His physical rotation was often accompanied by a change in tempo or pace in his song choices.
Strait, with his 10-piece Ace in the Hole band backing him, opened the show with “Here for A Good Time,” and followed it up with “Ocean Front Property,” and “Check Yes or No.”
He promised old and new, along with some surprises, the first of which was a duet with opener Martina McBride on a cover of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s “Jackson.” The pair then moved to George Jones and Tammy Wynette with a cover of “Golden Ring.”
Strait also led the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday to You,” for his wife Norma who was in attendance and presided over the presentation of a new home to a wounded vet as part of the Homes 4 Wounded Heroes project.
After one rotation around the stage, Strait went back to the beginning, playing songs from 1981’s “Strait Country” release including “Blame It on Mexico” and “Her Goodbye Hit Me in the Heart.” When he moved to his second release with “Honky Tonk Crazy” and “Marina Del Rey,” it caused some to wonder if he would touch on every album in the catalog.
“Hang with me,” he said, as if in response. “I’ve got more.”
After a run through the 90s that included hits from his best-selling “Pure Country” album, Strait finally wrapped things up with “Unwound,” before returning for a multi-song encore that included “All My Ex’s Live in Texas.”
The fact that Martina McBride opened the show is proof enough that Strait is the true King of Country. McBride has headlined similar size venues throughout her own hit-making career and gave a rousing 70-minute performance to open the show.
Along with covers like Rod Stewart’s “First Cut is the Deepest,” which turned into Tom Petty’s “Free Falling,” she performed her most popular songs such as “Independence Day,” and “Broken Wing.” Her performance on the latter song, as it often does, resulted in a standing ovation.