Las Vegas Weekly

February 22, 2010 · 4:31 AM

Photos: An American Saturday night with Brad Paisley at Mandalay Bay

By Don Chareunsy

Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night Tour stop at Mandalay Bay Events Center on Feb. 20, 2010.

Photo: TVT

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

Based on his American Saturday Night Tour stop at Mandalay Bay Events Center on -- when else? -- Saturday night, singer-songwriter Brad Douglas Paisley is one of the funniest and most likable, intelligent and creative artists in country music today. He’s also one of country’s most award-winning in the past decade, having multiple Grammy, American Music, Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards under his belt. All this, and he can write and sing, too.

Paisley performed a nearly 2-hour set, after opening acts Justin Moore and Miranda Lambert, at Mandalay Bay that included everything that makes a night out at a concert stand out: up-tempo hits that have fans standing up and dancing; ballads that pierce the heart; images that complement, rather than detract from, the performance; and fan interaction, which was assisted by a long center catwalk into the audience. Also included were his now-signature pop culture references to everything from Guitar Hero to superheroes to animation. And he mastered it all without seeming forced or cliched.

Paisley started the night by running to the end of the center catwalk in his signature white cowboy hat, a black T-shirt and blue jeans and belted his current hit “American Saturday Night” from the album of the same name, mixed with “Start a Band,” his No. 1 collaboration with Keith Urban. He dedicated “Mud on the Tires” to “Las Vegas rednecks who can’t keep their trucks clean.” His Las Vegas allusions also included two references to Wayne Newton, including singing a quick bar from “Danke Schoen,” and a country rock-ified “Viva Las Vegas.” During “Celebrity,” a hilarious video was played on the stage-wide-sized big screen that included strong and playfully hesitant vocals by Dierks Bentley (an opening act for much of the current tour) and his former opening act, a blonde-haired country singer some of you might know by the name of Taylor Swift, who was declared “Loser!!!” at the end of Guitar Hero.

“Waiting on a Woman” included the touching award-winning video featuring TV’s Matlock maverick himself Andy Griffith. The incredibly, ahem, catchy “Catch All the Fish” was accompanied by a funny, home-movie-style fishing trip video, and much to the audience’s delight, Paisley walked right into the crowd playing his guitar, making a full large square on the floor before returning to the stage. The Set also included “The World”; “Letter to Me,” which included five high school senior photos that the Class of 1991 graduate poked fun of in his endearing, self-deprecating manner; “Ticks,” which became an excuse for the Boob Cam, as larger-than-life live images of busty audience members were flashed onscreen; and “Online,” a video that features frequent collaborator Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame. In fact, Paisley returns the favor by appearing in a video in The Donny Clay Experience, Alexander’s current one-man show at Planet Hollywood. The only song missing from the night was the haunting “Whiskey Lullaby,” the hit duet with Alison Krauss.

“When I Get Where I’m Going,” one of the most touching songs ever written and a No. 1 hit for Paisley with Dolly Parton, was one of the night’s most memorable moments. The song and video are a loving tribute to the artists’ family members who have died. While Paisley sang with his guitar atop a stool at the end of the center catwalk, images of famous people who have departed flashed on the big screen, among them Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Elvis Presley, the 9/11 victims, Ronald Reagan, Don Knotts, Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy and Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Republic of Georgia luge athlete who died tragically, at age 21, hours before the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver, B.C.

Two other memorable moments were during Paisley’s animated video and “Welcome to the Future.” An animated video created by Paisley featured him as a superhero rescuing the likes of Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride and Sugarland. However, superhero Brad declines to intervene in the famous public feud between The Dixie Chicks and Toby Keith. During “Welcome to the Future” (his No. 2 hit that broke his record-setting string of 10 consecutive No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Charts last year), a video played that celebrates the multiculturalism of America. Paisley said he was inspired to write the song after the election of President Obama; the song includes the line From a woman on a bus / to a man with a dream and also references other Civil Rights imagery. He performed the song live for the first time at The White House last July.

The night ended with “Alcohol,” an American Saturday Night spectacle and climax with rockin’ guitars, video images of “Bradweiser” and “Brad Light” beer, circuit party lights, the onstage return of Moore and Lambert, and the trio signing photographs, caps and other memorabilia at the foot of the stage.

Miranda Lambert

Moore and Lambert served as the opening acts. Lambert, alongside Lady Antebellum, opened for another country superstar, Kenny Chesney, at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel last April, and her set is similar 10 month later. Dressed in a blue top, jeans and bedazzled belt and high heel mini-boots, Lambert’s performance included “Kerosene,” “Dry Town” and “White Liar,” which included a funny video montage of her country singer boyfriend Blake Shelton posing with numerous female fans (and a male fan at the very end), plus her upcoming single “The House That Built Me” off her recently released third studio album Revolution.

The self-described redneck chick told the audience that she’s been in Las Vegas about 10 times in the past two months and ended her set with, “Thank you so much, Las Vegas. We’ll see you next time. God bless you!”

Miscellaneous notes

*There was no photographer assigned to the concert on Saturday night, so my guest took photos with my digital camera at the foot of the stage while I diligently took notes from my seat. Thank you, Maria, for this great photo gallery.

*Maria wasn’t the only audience member taking photos. Others were practically up in Paisley’s grill with their cameras and cell phones. It’s interesting how security ranges from concert to concert when it comes to cameras and cell phones.

*Does Paisley sweat? His T-shirt stayed dry during the nearly 2-hour set, although by the end, there was a little brow sweat under his cowboy hat. Maria and I think he may have quickly changed shirts. Nonetheless, the lack of sweat is impressive.

*Not a single four-letter word was uttered during Paisley’s performance. Kudos, Mr. Paisley.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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