REVIEW Country rocker turns predictable in concert

Tim McGraw did the expected, while newcomers Big & amp; Rich did the unexpected.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. -- Everybody's a critic.
Look up "Horse of a Different Color," the CD by rowdy country duo Big & amp; Rich, on the Amazon.com Internet shopping site and you'll find customer reviews along with shipping details. The reviews include unabashed praise, out-of-context comparisons to R & amp;B singer Alicia Keys (go figure) and one man's well-written but critical assessment of the pair's debut CD, which he said feels calculated to attract young male buyers.
I wish that guy had been at Tim McGraw's heavily attended concert Tuesday night at Post-Gazette Pavilion. He could have used that word calculated again -- to describe McGraw's performance, that is. Supporting act Big & amp; Rich was McGraw's opposite, turning in a lively, risky, fun show.
Headlining acts load concert set lists with their best-known songs from records and radio, of course, but that's not as important as what they inject into each number when they're performing live.
Then and now
Three summers ago, McGraw was ripping the roofs off amphitheaters across the United States with his life-affirming tunes that made listeners dance one moment, cry the next. He reveled in his role as a rock-influenced country artist.
This show still has all of the trappings of a major act -- big video screens, bright lights and an eight-piece band, Dancehall Doctors -- but these days McGraw seems to be stuck in mid-tempo and content with himself. Sure, he's had great success with ballads: "Don't Take the Girl" is a classic, 12 years after its release, and new single "Live Like You Were Dying" may be another classic in the making.
Still, the audience and the band seemed to have more energy than McGraw.
New song selections included the unimpressive "Blank Sheet of Paper," which McGraw wrote with opening act The Warren Brothers; and a wistful one called "My Old Friend" that got McGraw to talking about the safety of military personnel. Both tunes are on McGraw's new album that will be released Aug. 24.
While McGraw did what was expected of him, Big & amp; Rich made an impression by doing the unexpected. Big Kenny, who clowned around like Joe Walsh of The Eagles, and John Rich, who exuded some McGraw-like qualities, sung nearly every song in tandem. They tipped their hats to rock, funk and Americana styles while preserving the twang in their sound. They were loud and proud of the sense of earthy humor they shared in songs such as "Kick My A--" and "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)."
They introduced Cowboy Troy, a 6'5" black rapper in Western wear who added his touch to "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & amp; Rich)." Surprising, yes, but in the end that did feel calculated.
shaulis@vindy.com