The 2013 Live Nation Mega Ticket concert season came to a close this past Saturday, October 26th as Luke Bryan brought his Dirt Road Diaries tour to the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Coincidentally, this was also the close of his tour, which featured Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square as the opening acts.
Usually the crowd trickles in during the opening acts, not filling the seats and lawn until just before the headliner takes the stage. This wasn’t the case on this beautiful clear night, as the crowd filed in early to catch Florida Georgia Line, who are one of the hottest acts in all of music thanks to the success of their hits “Cruise,” “Get Your Shine On,” and “Round Here.” Their meteoric rise is unprecedented…it wasn’t that long ago that they were an unsigned band that was popular regionally…a year later and they had the longest running #1 hit country song in Billboard Music history!
photo by Mike Carroll
They kicked the show off with “It’z Just What We Do” and never slowed down as they worked the crowd with a set list of high-energy party songs. Their abbreviated set included “Party People,” “Round Here,” “Dayum, Baby,” “Get Your Shine On,” and their chart-topping “Cruise.” Before they did “Get Your Shine On,” they asked the crowd to get their cell phones out and hold them up…it was quite a spectacular scene!
photo by Mike Carroll
They interrupted “Cruise” to break into the hip hop version that Nelly helped make famous, and left the stage to a roaring ovation. While this tour is coming to an end, they are staying on the road headlining their own shows with Colt Ford opening for them. You can catch their show in Tallahassee on Saturday, November 10th.
photo by Mike Carroll
Husband-wife duo Thompson Square had to cancel their performances the previous two nights in Tampa, as Shawna was dealing with an illness, but we were fortunate enough to have her back to health and ready to perform on this night. They put on an entertaining performance showing the great chemistry you would expect from a married couple. Shawna was looking hot with a partially see-through top, and Keifer was sporting a stylish hat. Being the last night of the tour, it was only a matter of time before the pranks started, and towards the end of their set, they were surprised by some Christmas blow-up snowmen that popped up at the front of the stage!
photo by Mike Carroll
Here’s a rundown of their set list:
- That’s So Me and You
- I Got You
- Just Feels Good
- Everything I Shouldn’t Be Thinking About (Their new single that’s rising up the charts…it currently sits at #46)
- I Won’t Back Down (Cover of Tom Petty’s hit)
- Some Nights (Cover of fun.’s hit)
- Glass (This was preceded by Shawna taking a break to talk about their role with ChildFund.org, a charity they got involved with after visiting South America.
- If I Didn’t Have You (They had quite a romantic moment at the top of the stairs of their set design, again showing their great chemistry together)
- Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not
photo by Mike Carroll
After two great performances, the moment the crowd was waiting months for finally came…the start of Luke Bryan‘s set! He rose up out of the raised platform in the back of the stage as his band launched into “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.” It didn’t take long for him to appease the female portion of the crowd, as he started to get his “Magic Mike” on with his tongue rolls and over-excessive pelvic gyrations during “Country Man.” It’s clear why he’s the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, as the crowd ate it up. It’s amazing to think that just a few short years ago he was playing at the Round Up in Davie and at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach.
photo by Mike Carroll
Bryan proceeded to put on a great show rolling through hit after hit, while sprinkling in some songs from his Spring Break album and some unreleased album cuts. Midway through the show he brought Florida Georgia Line out to join him for a cover of Maroon 5’s “One More Night.”
photo by Mike Carroll
The pranks continued as Thompson Square then came out to join them, except they had traded outfits with Keifer wearing the see-through top and Shawna wearing the t-shirt and hat that Keifer was wearing earlier.
photo by Mike Carroll
They all performed Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” before playing a fun medley of popular songs including “The Joker,” “Song of the South,” some free-style rapping by Florida Georgia Line, “Just a Friend,” Ice Ice Baby,” “Baby Got Back,” and more! You could tell they were having the time of their lives doing this, and Luke Bryan finished it off by exclaiming that they had never rehearsed any of that! To me, this was the highlight of the night…it was fun, carefree, and the crowd loved singing along to it.
photo by Mike Carroll
Bryan then took a moment to reflect on the end of the tour, thanking the bands, road crews, bus drivers, and all the others that made the tour possible. He then decided it was time for some “pickin’ and grinnin'” as a piano was brought out to the front of the stage. He started this off by saying there is one ingredient needed, and as he opened the lid off of a box or cooler (it was hard to tell from my vantage point), he was startled to find some baby alligators inside! He took them out (their mouths were taped shut) and posed with them for a minute, then got back to the script as he pulled out a bottle of moonshine and took a swig. He then passed the bottle on to the lead guitar player, starting the band introductions. The guitar player took a huge chug of the alcohol, then proceeded to “shake it” for the crowd, finishing by continuing with the theme of the night with some butt muscle flexing and clenching for the camera. The moonshine made it’s way around the piano to the rest of the band members who each took a sip as they were introduced.
Bryan riled up the crowd by taking a shot at the “sad” Miami Dolphins before getting back to his performance that ended with “All My Friends Say” (with a little bit of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” mixed in), “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”
It was a bit surprising that he didn’t do an encore, but he did play right up until the 11pm deadline that the county imposes on the venue. I was disappointed that he didn’t perform fan-favorites “We Rode In Trucks,” “Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets” or “Take My Drunk Ass Home,” but overall it was a great performance, minus a little too much of the pelvic gyrations. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has many more Entertainer of the Year Awards in his future!
Luke Bryan Set List
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
- Country Man
- Someone Else Calling You Baby
- Rain Is A Good Thing
- Crash My Party
- That’s My Kinda Night
- Suntan City
- If You Ain’t Here To Party
- One More Night (Maroon 5 cover with Florida Georgia Line)
- Locked Out Of Heaven (Bruno Mars cover with Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square)
- Medley of: The Joker (Steve Miller Band cover), Song of the South (Alabama cover), a freestyle rap by Florida Georgia Line, “Just a Friend” (Biz Markie cover), “Ice Ice Baby” (Vanilla Ice cover), “Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-a-Lot cover), and more (with Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square)
- Too Damn Young
- Play It Again
- Do I
- The Only Way I Know
- Drunk On You
- All My Friends Say/Enter Sandman medley
- I Don’t Want This Night to End
- Country Girl (Shake It For Me)