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Last night, country heart-throb Luke Bryan gave a high-energy performance that had everyone in the crowd shaking it and singing along in the party-like atmosphere of the sold out Ak-Chin Pavilion.
His openers, Cole Swindell and Lee Brice surely didn’t disappoint. The night was kicked off by Swindell, who strategically ended his set with his major hits, including his chart-topping, “Chillin’ It,” as an accommodation for all the late arrivals. Lee Brice soon followed, looking as excited to see us as we were to him. He closed with his most recent hit, “I Don’t Dance,” to which the crowd sang the final verse a cappella, much to Brice’s delight.
Everyone in the venue was hyped up and ready to see Bryan take the stage after the high energy openers. Pictures were taken by all as we awaited his arrival. Soon a roaring cheer came over the arena as the lights went dim. It was finally time to see our country boy shake it. The show opened with a slightly dramatic video of Bryan igniting an arrow with fire, before launching it in the direction of the stage. This caused the edges of the stage to burst into flame at the exact moment the stage came to life. With the speakers blaring Bryan’s twangy voice, he began. As one might expect, he opened his show with the tours namesake, “That’s My Kind of Night.”
“Who’s feelin’ frisky in Arizona tonight?” Bryan asked as he performed a throwback, “Rain is A Good Thing.” The next few songs received much cheer, and the concert carried on with Bryan frequently shaking it in tight, painted on jeans, much like the girls he sings about.
The crowd received a unique surprise when Bryan posed the question, “Where are my country girls at tonight?” before jumping into his hit, “Country Man.” In the middle of this hit, Bryan pulled a boy of no more than five that was in the front row, onto the stage. He sported a country look of a plaid shirt and a baseball hat that even gave Bryan a run for his money. The crowd cheered evermore for the both of them, as they danced around together. The song ended with Bryan concluding, “the world needs more country men.”
Bryan utilized crowd involvement throughout, taking various phones from the crowd and taking “selfies” as well as urging us to sing along. Whilst performing “Suntan City,” he took a beer from the cooler on stage, took a big swig, and gave to a female in the crowd, who looked like she might pass out from excitement.
Throughout the second half of his concert, he brought out Lee Brice and Cole Swindell once more, to sing covers with each of them. Together with Brice, he covered Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl,” which Brice himself helped write. After a song or two, he then brought out Swindell to sing “This is How We Roll,” a song of which Bryan and Swindell both collaborated with Flordia Georgia Line on.
Bryan closed his show with a unique rendition of “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” which became a medley of his hit as well as Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” This received a rambunctious uproar from the crowd, before he finally stated, “I don’t want this night in Arizona to end.” Soon the lights on the stage went dim once more, and the entire crowd patiently waited, hoping for an encore.
After just enough time to change his shirt, Bryan was back to sing a few more hits. “Play It Again” blared from the speakers, receiving heavy crowd involvement. His last song of the night was the biggest crowd pleaser. “Country Girl (Shake it For Me)” transformed the stadium into a full on dance party. Laughs were had by all as he created yet another medley, singing Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty,” as well as Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass.”
Before finally exiting the stage for the night, Bryan thanked us for making this show “the fastest sell out ever” for him. He gave quite a few farewells as he blew kisses to the crowd, complete with a quick muscle flex. He grabbed a few more beers from the cooler, dancing around with them, dousing the front rows, seeming to have the time of his life. He gave one last fleeting wave, before finally exiting the stage.
Bryan gave a commendable, high-energy perfomance, complete with crowd involvement and all of our favorite hits. Bryan showed his down to earth nature throughout the course of the concert, making it seem as if it was just as much of a privilege to perform for us as it was for us to see him. He gave an amazing concert to remember, that had us shaking it right along with him.
Reach the reporter at dpharias@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @_Desirayray
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