Notes, too, starting with a richly voiced cover of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," and ending with "I Need You," a new, familiar-sounding duet off McGraw's just-released album, "Let it Go."
In between, the set list for Monday night's 2-hour-40-minute Salt Lake City concert was stuffed full of an endless supply of ballads and anthems about love and heartbreak. The staging was similar to the couple's winning, best-selling 2006 tour, without the overly pretentious, awkward back-to-back duet singing. Instead, the married singers actually looked at each other in early duets, and shared kisses and a long embrace at the concert's finale.
Cynical critics might question why stars like McGraw, the outlaw singer known for his sensitive side (listen to: "Real Good Man") and Hill, the glamorous blonde who sings countrified pop about being a downhome girl (listen to: "Mississippi Girl") seem so eager to blow up their love story to Jumbotron-size. (As McGraw joked at the tour announcement: "I can't wait to get out there and see everybody and read the bad reviews.")
But fans seem to have their own love affair with both the couple's story and their music, if the know-every-word ticketholders at Monday night's sold-out EnergySolutions Arena are any indication. Last year, the couple's "Soul2Soul II" tour was a big deal for the struggling music industry, selling some 1.1 million tickets and estimated to be the top-grossing tour -- ever -- in country music.
Just 11 months after playing two nearly sold-out Salt Lake City dates, McGraw and Hill returned with a show aimed to play to once again play to the rafters, complete with a big-ticket light show and massive, cross-shaped stage.
For the singers, the four arms of the stage offer more opportunities to interact with more cross-sections of the crowd. And for fans, now that concerts have devolved into celebrity cell phone photo shoots, better access.
In separate sets, each singer praised the warmth of local fans.
"Thank you for coming back," Hill said, claiming even after last year's tour of 77 concerts in some 55 cities, Salt Lake City stood out for its friendly fans. Which prompted one to shout: "I love you," and the singer to answer, "I love you too, and good thing I put my deodorant on. Not that you'd know, but now you do. See? I feel like we're family now."
"You're truly one of the best crowds we've ever played for," McGraw offered more simply, more flatteringly, later in the night.
The 35-song concert was choreographed in two halves, stitched together with duets. Hill's one-hour set included a new bluesy ballad, "Lost," ("I wanna stay lost in your love forever") from what she announced as an upcoming greatest hits album. Dressed in a slinky, black halter outfit, her long waves free-flowing around her, Hill emoted her lungs out, even while she moved shyly, stiffly, earnestly around the stage.
Between sucking gulps of water and lemon slices, McGraw delivered his own full-bodied hits with trademark swagger. One highlight was the performance of his new single, "If You're Reading This," an intimate narrative about the post-death wishes of an American soldier serving in Iraq.
Together, the couple's story adds up to more than the sum of their musical parts. Not that the best-selling singers have anything left to prove, but even their most-played out hits, like Hill's "This Kiss" and "The Way That You Love Me" and McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying," sound newly infectious when an arena-sized crowd is singing along.
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Contact Ellen Fagg at ellenf@sltrib.com or 801-257-8621. Comments? livingeditor@ sltrib.com
