By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: September 11, 2009

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

NORMAN, Okla. – Bringing his 2009 “Feel That Fire Tour” to Norman’s Riverwind Casino Thursday night, country star Dierks Bentley was full of pep and energy has he ran through most of his big hits in a little over an hour.

Promoting his latest album, Feel That Fire, curly-haired, open-plaid-shirt-wearing Bentley kicked off the show with his recent hit “Sideways,” a roof-raising song that got the large crowd very excited for what was to come.

Cowboy-hat-wearing lead guitarist Rod Janzen began playing some very familiar notes as the second song was launched and when Tim Sergent keyed in that sweet-sounding steel guitar, it was clear that the uber-twangy country-pop tune “Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do” was being played. And Bentley sang it with energy and fervor.

Dierks and the band ran through a string of big songs including “Every Mile A Memory,” “Trying To Stop Your Leaving,” “Life On the Run,” “So So Long”  and “How Am I Doin’” and even threw in references to buds Cross Canadian Ragweed (Cody Canada named his young son after Dierks) and the good ol’ Wormy Dog Saloon.

Midway, Dierks and the guys slowed things down a bit with “Come A Little Closer,” his 2005 number one country hit. What was strange was that he opened it by singing, “Come a little closer, baby / I feel like strippin’ you down.” He seemed to realize the mistake, since the word should have been “layin’.” Oh well. It’s a great song live and at the end, Bentley laughed and said, “That’s a pretty racy song.” The audience loved it!

A song off Feel That Fire, “Better Believer,” was included, Bentley said, because of a request from a fan. It’s a decent song but not entirely memorable.

His 2006 hit, “Settle for a Slowdown,” was quite appealing and then the Phoenix, Ariz. Native sent the band offstage and talked to the audience about his early days working as a singer at Nashville’s Springwater Supper Club, paying his dues, earning peanuts and drinking lots of Natural Light beer.

It was during this portion of the set that Bentley was joined by guitarist Janzen for some acoustic songs. This is where he introduced “My Last Name,” a song off of his 2003 debut, which is a thoughtful song about how his family name means much to him and how the twist at the end is where he sing, “I wanna be your husband, I want you to be my wife / Ain’t got much to give you, but what I’ve got means everything / It’s my last name.”

It was then into “Long Trip Alone” and from there the songs got more jolly and fun, with “Feel That Fire” and “Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go),” from the 2006 album Long Trip Alone.

Wrapping up the main set, Bentley and the band left the stage and came back out to perform the amusing and fun “What Was I Thinkin’,” a number one hit in 2003. Enhancing the performance was the video of the song with its imagery of the shotgun-wielding dad. Bentley’s latest single, “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes,” is one of his best songs and deserves much attention from country radio.

Dierks and the boys wrapped things up with an exciting cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Afterward, Bentley could be seen signing autographs from the stage and at one point looked up and grinned as a woman handed him some red underwear to sign.

Having seen Dierks Bentley on two other occasions here in Oklahoma, this was Bentley’s best performance yet. As a performer he loves to pace around the stage, shake hands with folks and send shout outs to people in the back of the venue. He’s unfailingly likeable and his songs – a mix of country, rock, Americana and singer-songwriter styles works well in the studio and in a live setting. Plus, the ladies love him.

For more information, go to www.dierks.com.

Copyright 2009 West Marie Media