West Valley City » Smooth and steady: It describes George Strait's music, his legendary career, and, on Friday night, his no-frills concert at Usana Amphitheatre.
As his fans know -- and love -- there is nothing flashy or hurried about the "King of Country." Just like royalty, he strolled onto center stage, smiled those pearly whites and never stopped performing a string of hits that included more than a dozen of his 53 No. 1 singles.
His majesty dressed in perfect country regalia (a blue plaid shirt, pressed jeans and black cowboy hat) opened with "Write This Down," "Ocean Front Property" and "Fireman," offering little chitchat between songs except for a gentlemanly "Thank you."
Strait moved on to pay tribute to his Texas rodeo roots with "I Can Still Make Cheyenne," "If the Whole World Was a Honky Tonk" and "Texas." During the latter, the two large screens on stage flashed favorite symbols of the Lone Star state, pleasing the surprisingly large contingent of Texas natives.
Fans were hanging on every word during "I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore" and dancing in the aisles during "Yes or No."
Strait may be steady and reliable, but never boring, sprinkling in a few surprises with the "Seashores of Old Mexico" and "Living For the Night," a single from his new album to be released in August.
He finished up his nearly 100-minute show with favorites "The Chair," "Give It Away," "Amarillo by Morning," and "Unwound."
A short break and Strait was back for a three-song encore, highlighted by the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison" which showcased the strength of his long-time, multi-talented Ace in the Hole Band.
The concert marked a homecoming for Julianne Hough, who opened the show along with Blake Shelton.
It was the first time Hough, a Utah native and "Dancing with the Stars" winner, performed in front of a hometown crowd. With family and friends in the audience and in the wings, she offered up a 30-minute set that included her first single, "That Song in My Head," and "Too Good to Be True," which will be part of her sophomore record.
The only disappointment of the night was Usana's sound system that was on the blink during some of Shelton's performance. The mishap played perfectly into his hit "Some Beach" and was completely forgotten by his "Old Red" finale.
Unfortunately, some of the sound problems lingered into Strait's show.
