Blake Shelton "Ten Times Crazier" Tour

Share this page..... Tweet

The Blake Shelton "Ten Times Crazier" Tour Makes for an Insanely Good Night!

By: Susan J. Yeager

You have to hand it to Blake Shelton, that guy truly knows how to take an ordinary Thursday night and make it feel like the best Saturday night that you have ever had. Even though most of the sold out crowd at a recent Charleston, WV stop on the "Ten Times Crazier" tour had to report to work the next day, Blake encouraged the crowd to put their cares away for a couple of hours. Judging from the over three hour sing-along with ten thousand of their closest friends, I'd say the audience was happy to oblige.

The show actually started five minutes early, with Warner Music Nashville recording artist, Jana Kramer, taking the stage at 7:25. The crowd knew better than to be fashionably late to this party and Jana had almost a packed house to entertain. She kicked things off with the sassy "Don't Touch My Radio," and then energetically plowed through several songs from her self-titled debut album like "Good Time Coming On," "Whiskey," and "One of the Boys."

She also treated the audience to her first single "Why you Wanna," and her current single "I Hope it Rains," ("I love all of ya'll right?" she questioned the crowd before starting the latter. "So I don't want any of your days to get ruined by rain! I just want it to ruin, every single one of my ex-boyfriends!"). The crowd reacted well to new music that Jana hopes to include on her second album like "Hotter Than That." Her twenty-five minute set proved to be a solid showcase of good, relatable songs. The rising star also promised to meet with every fan after the show. That's always a nice surprise for ticket holders.

Looking back, it seems Blake's career spent several years producing great songs and solid hits, but he didn't quite launch into "Superstar Status" until four or five years ago which would be seven or eight years into living the dream. We wondered if that might be the case for Blake's second opening act, Easton Corbin. The Florida native has been on the country music scene for about 4 years now and after witnessing his easy going stage presence and natural ability to entertain, you had to wonder why he isn't a pretty big deal yet. Luckily, this performer and his talented band had about forty-five minutes to show the crowd why he deserves to be in line to one day be country music royalty.

Easton used his time on stage to showcase songs from his first album (a self titled debut) like "Roll With it," and "That'll Make You Wanna Drink." He also sang his debut single "A Little More Country Than That," a song that went straight to number one. From his second album, he performed "That's Gonna Leave a Memory" (his set opener), the beautiful, "Are you With Me," "Lovin' You is Fun," and the title track "All Over the Road."

Just in case you weren't feeling his music (not that anyone there wasn't), the Mercury Nashville recording artist busted out a few covers like the Alan Jackson hit, "Where I Come From," and the Brooks and Dunn classic, "A Brand New Man." We won't give away all of his surprises, but fun was certainly had during Easton's set. Seriously, check this guy out if you don't know of him already.

The crowd didn't seem to mind the 25 minute or so break it took to reset the stage. When the lights dimmed, the noise level was deafening and the excitement in the air must have been felt for miles around. When Blake finally started a slow decent on an elevator, I was worried the roof was going to come off the place. There truly is nothing like country fans and their music!

"All About Tonight," was the song that kicked Blake's set off followed by "The More I Drink." The lull in music between the second and third song gave the crowd the chance to go absolutely wild with applause and screams for the singer. He seemed genuinely touched by the enthusiasm. He joked with some guys in the crowd about being dragged their by their wives and girlfriends which was the perfect segue into "Over." He promised to win every single person in the crowd "over" by the end of the night. The truth is, he had them before he even stepped on to the stage.

The hits just kept on coming. "She Wouldn't Be Gone," "Nobody But Me," "Some Beach," and the huge crowd pleaser "Ol' Red." He asked the crowd permission to sing one new song and promised he wouldn't be putting them through a ton of new music that they didn't know. He then proceeded to sing his latest single "Mine Would Be You." Let's face it, any "new music," is just going to be an old hit some time in the future, so sing whatever you want Blake. We don't care.

More hits followed like the beautiful "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking," and "Sure be Cool if You Did." The Oklahoma native had a surprise in store for the Charleston audience. Danielle Bradbery who won the last round of "The Voice," (She was Team Blake, of course!) was in town so she came out to perform her debut single "Heart of Dixie."

But wait! There were even more hits to come! The funny "Hillbilly Bone," was followed by acoustic versions of "Austin," Blake's first single ever (it went to number one) and the song he co-wrote with his wife Miranda Lambert about the death of his brother. His performance of "Over You" really tugged at the heart strings.

Before every song, Blake's wicked sense of humor made an appearance and anyone that had doubts that "Country Music Star Blake" was any different than "Wise-cracking 'The Voice' Blake'" was quickly put to ease. The "Ten Times Crazier" tour proved why the reigning "CMA Entertainer of the Year" deserved the win and why he is nominated in the same category this year (he has four other nominations this year, as well!)

The night continued with more hits and an encore of more hits and you kind of just never wanted it to end. Like all good things though... it was inevitable. You can see Blake on the new season of "The Voice," on NBC, Monday and Tuesday nights. There are a few more stops on the "Ten Times Crazier" tour before "The Voice" live shows begin again. Keep checking his website to see when he might be in a town near you. Crazy or not, you just have to love him!

For more on Blake visit: http://www.blakeshelton.com/