Last night’s free LeAnn Rimes Samsung Summer Krush gig at Gilley’s was a country-fried affair. I haven’t seen so many pristine cowboy hats since the gay rodeo.
But the next time there’s a freebie summer concert, I suggest y’all attend. With a bandana backdrop, LeAnn had a seven-piece band: two guitarists, a dobro/pedal steel player, bassist, drummer, backup singer and pianist. Once LeAnn started hitting those vocal acrobatics in “How Do I Live,” all the gals in the audience turned into lip-synching drag queens.
As she’s gotten older, LeAnn has only gotten prettier. But between every song, she totally did that Renee Zellweger “narcissistic squint” that Tracey Ullmann makes fun of.
Since I’m not the biggest LeAnn fan, I got kind of tired of her band’s Nashville slickness, which often overpowered LeAnn’s vocals. But when she sat down on a stool and unfurled her newest single, “What I Cannot Change,” it was quite refreshing. With the softest piano as her backup, she created a far-out dramatic melody that sounded like something Kate Bush would sing. It gave me the chills.
That’s from her new “Family” album, which doesn’t come out until Oct. You can hear “What I Cannot Change” here:
Photos taken at Gilley’s Dallas on Aug 13 by Bryan Amann.
