The man, the myth, the legend, the country megastar rode into Blossom Music Center for a sold-out show on Saturday, June 24! Fans rolled in, too, but at a much slower pace.
The venue once again embarrassed itself with the worst traffic management in the biz. Yes, this reviewer has traveled to at least a dozen Blossom-sized amphitheaters across the country, and traffic, by nature, is horrible. Blossom consistently wins first place for ‘Absolute Worst.’ Once the 2023 votes are tallied, it is undoubtedly a win for Blossom (by a landslide).
The fun side of things is that folks stuck in said cluster F* know how to make the most of a less-than-desirable situation. Blasting music (many choosing Eric Church), passengers drinking “road pops” (NOT CONDONED BY CLEVEROCK STAFF!), and of course, hundreds, if not a thousand people make their way to a not-so-private area to urinate while waiting LITERALLY 2-3 hours to park (When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go!)
After an impressive set from up-and-comer Ashley McBryde, the anticipation began for Mr. Church to take his place on stage. Last time through town, the big-timer played two shows in downtown Cleveland. He could have easily sold-out two nights at Blossom but chose to give more markets some love, too.
Yes, at the outset, Church was called a “legend.” He played homage to perhaps the biggest legend produced in Northeast Ohio, the late, great Mr. Michael Stanley. Church dedicated the show to Stanley and even wore a shirt bearing his name. A touching tribute, indeed.
The headliner kicked off the evening with “Chattanooga Lucy” from his 2015 record, ‘Mr. Misunderstood.’ The record edged out the most prominently featured album on his setlist with six tunes from it performed, barely edging out 2011’s ‘Chief,’ of which five songs were included.
Eric’s most recent projects were two back-to-back releases that dropped one week apart in April of 2021 titled ‘Heart’ and ‘Soul’ respectively.
His first new(ish) term reared its head right after the opening number as he ripped into “Bad Mother Trucker” from ‘Soul.’ The song is a salute to female truck drivers but could celebrate the women making an impact in any male-dominated industry.
Perhaps this is why a clever shirt at the merch stand read “Good girls never miss Church.”
Out of the gate, Church’s stage presence and the way he commanded the full attention and energy in the crowd showed why he’s one of the top names in country music and sells out venues everywhere he plays. Maybe it is his voice; perhaps it is his good looks; the way he makes his guitar ‘talk’; his dry humor in his between-song banter; the way he moves on the stage…Or, ALL OF THE ABOVE. Pick a reason. Any reason. Come up with your own. This guy is REAL country while also appealing to the fans of classic rock or even pop song lovers.
This reviewer’s favorite song “Drink in My Hand” came just five songs into the set. I stopped jotting down notes and observing things for my review and dance my butt off while singing along to every word. I didn’t have a care in the world as Church belted out:
“No need to complicate it, I’m a simple man /
All you got to do is put a drink in my hand”
*Of note, by estimation, about half of the folks in the audience could relate to this song in the moment because they did, in fact, have a drink in their hand!
Other highlights for this writer included the title track from ‘Mr. Misunderstood,’ “Smoke a Little Smoke” (from 2009’s ‘Carolina’ record) and “Cold One.”
McBryde returned to join Eric on “Drowning Man.” Damn, these two sound good together!
The lone cover of the note was Little Feat’s “Sailin Shoes.” The song was released in 1972, but was new to me!
Set-closer “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” brought the audience begging for more as Church exited the stage. This was one “Church” service where attendees wanted to stay long after the man on stage was done delivering the good word.
Of course, few shows are complete without an encore! The three-song ending included another one of this writer’s favorite tunes, “Springsteen,” (the song that first introduced me to Mr. Church’s music) followed by “Livin’ Part of Life” and “Holdin’ My Own.” (Country singers sure do love shortening with apostrophes!)
I forgot to check my watch (probably because I don’t wear one) but my internal clock since the show was around 100 minutes. Great, but only about 1/3 of the time I spent in traffic combining the time coming in and leaving. (Do better, Blossom!)
As for Eric Church…Could he even possibly do better? Probably not.
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