RASCAL FLATTS
Sara Evans
Easton Corbin
Susquehanna Bank Center
Camden, N.J. • July 9, 2011
 
        With a noon time parking lot opening, by the time I got there at 6 p.m. this place was already pretty insane. As I made my way through the lot, the only thing I saw waffling through the air at this show were cowboy hats, boots and daisy dukes (and I'm not talking about my friend up on Channel Buoy Rd.).
        The show opener, Easton Corbin, took the stage at 7 and played most of his set from his self-titled debut album. Check him out at www.eastoncorbin.com  
        Up next came Sara Evans with six albums from which to draw for her forty-five minute set.. Check her out at www.saraevans.com
        Finally, the lights go down and the backing band takes their place onstage. A huge wall of LCD lights pop on behind the stage with thunderous lightning projected on the screen. Out of three separate doors in this wall of lights comes Rascal Flatts: Gary LeVox, lead vocals, Jay DeMarcus, bass guitar, and Joe Don Rooney, lead guitar. They walk down three sets of steps to the front of the stage where there are 3 drum kits, an upright bass and two tom-toms. They each go behind the kit and play an incredible percusssion with the tom-toms lighting up as an intro to their night of music. (After a couple minutes I was waiting for Joe Mama to come out and join them.)
        As they end their intro, the band opens their set with "Why Wait", "Me and My Gang" and "Summer Nights."  The rest of the evening's set was a trip through the band's 10-year career and from that point on kept the sold-out crowd on its feet. Then "Bless the Broken Road", "Stand", "Unstoppable", and "My Wish" before the band did three fun cover songs, "Taking it To The Streets" (Michael McDonald), "What Cowgirls Do" (Vince Gill), and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Stevie Wonder). Now with the crowd primed for just about anything, they play "Lonesome Road."
        They invited Sara Evans back out onstage to sing "Easy" and she joined them in a crowd participation Happy Birthday sing-a-long to singer Gary LaVox. Next up, "Life is a Highway", (Tom Cochrane). Not sure why a band like this with its own impressive repertoire of music would want to cover a lot of other bands’ material, but they did a fine damn good job at it. Guess they wanted to pay homage to their favorite songs and the artists who may have inspired them. Now to close out their first set of the night they played "Fast Cars and Freedom/Red Camaro", "Take Me There", "What Hurts The Most" and "Bob That Head". After a short intermission the band returned with "I Won’t Let Go" and wouldn't you believe it, to close out the show, yet another cover, "Dancing on the Ceiling" ( Lionel Richie).
        All in all, LeVox, DeMarcus and Rooney left a pretty good impression on the crowd. The show was slick and entertaining, enough to keep those Rascal Flatts fans coming back for more, at least another 10 years. And the band was quite grateful as well. At the end of the show, the LCD screen lit up: "To the greatest fans in the world: Thanks for the ride!" To view more pictures, go to coconuttimes.com
– Gary Crouthamel, concert photo journalist