CALGARY -- Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley brought their anti-belly-button tour to Calgary last night.
More than 7,000 were in attendance at the Saddledome to hear country pure and true.
Traditional country torch-bearers torch bearers Jackson and Paisley delighted the crowd with their unapologetic twang.
Imagine a whole two-hour-plus country concert with no exposed belly buttons or twinkling sequins -- these two entertained with the help of fiddles and steel guitar.
The elder hat act started his show off with footage and clips from country legends ranging from Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette right on up to Dwight Yoakam, George Strait and Randy Travis.
We'll assume it was a tribute and not Jackson comparing himself to them, though his repertoire is lengthy and quite impressive.
Dressed in his trademark ripped jeans and a brown western shirt with piping, his Gone Country was greeted with a standing ovation.
The oh-so-casual Jackson also praised the appreciative fans.
"We've played here a lot over the last 10 years. There's a lot of good country fans up here," said Jackson. "It's a beautiful country and I enjoy coming ... but I haven't seen a moose yet -- I've been looking."
Paisley was outstanding.
He warmed the crowd up with such songs as Long Sermon, Me Neither, We Danced and, of course, his mega-hit He Didn't Have To Be.
The CMA rising-star winner also showed he had a sense humour by teasing the crowd about its rival city Edmonton and joking with his band members.
If you weren't won over by Paisley's charm, picture-painting lyrics or smooth, strong vocals, his hot guitar pickin' would definitely get you.
Chet Atkins would be proud of Paisley's lightning-fast finger dancing on the strings of his Paisley-patterned electric guitar.
"Country music is about truth. And if you know it or not, you know more about country music than Nashville," Paisley told the crowd.
Unfortunately, the beginning of his set was poorly mixed, but they all found their stride by the end of his hour, and they were awarded with the crowd rising to their feet.
