Jo Dee Messina, who performed at Fort Pierce's Sunrise Theater. (Post file photo)

For every minute of her 16-song set, Jo Dee Messina kept the energy flowing last night at the Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce. For more than an hour and a half, she bantered with the crowd and answered questions from the audience about everything from her family traditions to her desire to sabotage Alan Jackson’s Christmas lights to what she does in the back of her bus (writes songs.)

Messina took the stage shortly after 8 p.m. in faded jeans and a long sleeved graphic T. When people arrived late and disrupted the show, she put them in the spotlight saying, “Nice of you to show up.” And then she laughed that beautiful boisterous laugh that seems to come straight from her toes.

A bottomless sense of humor may be the most notable thing about Messina, besides that voice. She seems to see the humor in just about everything. When someone’s cell phone rang, she said, “Seriously? Your cell phone is on?” And laughed.

Most of the songs she played were requested by the audience, but she opened with “I’m Alright” and she played two songs from her upcoming album, Unmistakable, which should be released in January.

Before she sang “That’s God”, the first single, she explained how a walk with her 9-month-old son, Noah, in Canada inspired the song. She showed him a pristine lake and the snowcapped mountain that watched over it, even in the middle of July. Achingly beautiful.

Then it was back to her lively banter. She seems to be able to hold a conversation with the whole audience at the same time. She is connected and invested 100 percent.

The most unusual song was a ballad called “Paper Airplane”, which she said she sings to Noah all the time because it makes him laugh. And her husband Chris begs, “Would you stop singing that song! It’s so sad.”

I’d call it poignant and appropriate. It’s about a woman in assisted living who is talking to a visitor. The old woman asks the visitor’s name and then says, “Oh that’s my daughters name too, she visits on Tuesdays and we make paper airplanes and fly them around the room.” The hook is that the young woman is her daughter and she doesn’t recognize her.

You can barely go anywhere in South Florida without seeing someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s or just someone whose clock is winding down. It’s a heart-breaking reality that we see every day.

But I think Messina had an Alzheimer’s moment when she decided to give our her cell phone number to, well, everybody. She posted her digits on her web site and then after the concert she used the number to invite 30 lucky audience members to a short after-party in the venue’s new black box theatre.

Speaking of the theatre, I thought the acoustics where excellent, and the room had good energy. Homey. Comfortable seats. I could imagine after a few visits you’d feel like it was your theatre and the rest of the audience just visitors.

Coming up: Kenny Rogers. And just announced? Vince Gill in January. And Craig Morgan! Woo hoo!!

The upstairs lounge has huge windows facing east, which used to have an unobstructed view all the way to the Intracoastal, cozy furniture and a glistening dark wood bar. You can feel the history of South Florida all around you.

So Messina’s music room set-up worked perfectly. Acoustic instruments, cohune instead of drums, string bass. Add the plush furniture from Ethan Allen; the atmosphere was relaxed, like we were just over at her house to hear a few songs.

The set list consisted of requests so we heard songs I wouldn’t have imagined I’d hear, including the song my iPod says I played the most in the last year: “Even God Must Get the Blues”.

My bias should recuse me from reviewing Messina because she has been about my favorite artist since she made a colossal splash in the country music pond more than 10 years ago. But then who better to say that her vocals were perfectly in tune 99 percent of the time? That she didn’t stumble over any lyric? That she never gasped for breath even when she was blasting it? That her singing was effortless for her?

Sometimes I even have Jo Dee Messina Day. I set my iPod to her 45 songs and let them play. I admit I’m desperate for new music. I even bought the single “I’m Done” on iTunes. The song didn’t perform well, but I’ll bet Messina fans would love to have had a chance to hear it on country radio.

When you listen to the same person or the same album for any length of time, the music becomes homogenized and finally just boring. I know. If I find an album I like, I play it over and over until I know every nuance, every inflection, every detail.

But listening to Messina’s throaty, powerful vocal on a great mix of up-tempo stuff like “Lesson in Leaving” beside some of the most heart-breaking love songs you’ll ever hear (“Love is Not Enough”) has never gotten old for me. The only other artists I can do that with are (don’t hate me) The Dixie Chicks and Mark Wills (Yum!)

I thought the audience did a fine job requesting Messina’s set list. Predominately up-tempo, attitude-heavy songs that have made her famous, like “My Give-A-Damn’s Busted”, but we also heard a few obscure songs, like “Silver Thunderbird”.

The music room set-up also gave me a chance to learn a few things I didn’t know about Jo Dee, for instance:

Messina was raised by a single mother who worked a lot so music was her refuge, her comfort, her companion.
She has a brother.
She lives behind Alan Jackson and he doesn’t have a mailbox (and she once went over to his house in her pajamas.)
For their first Christmas, her husband Chris gave her “brown paper packages tied up with string,” just like in the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. (Can you hear the women melting? I could.) He still does it, but now he dresses up the brown paper with pretty bows.

I heard that people drove all from Miami to see Messina. I drove just about 70 miles, one way. And I would do it again. With Vince Gill coming, I’m excited about the prospect of having more country singers come to Fort Pierce. With only three concerts at Cruzan this year, I feel a little cheated.

I’d like to see Lady Antebellum (they were at the South Florida Fair last January and I’d like to see them again.) Jamie O’Neal.
Trisha Yearwood. Tracy Lawrence. Mark Wills. Who would you like to see?

Set list
Heads Carolina, Tails California
I’m Alright
That’s God
Paper Airplane
I Wish
Because You Love Me
Bye-Bye
Even God Can Get the Blues
Silver Thunderbird
Lesson in Leaving
Stand Beside Me
Too Late To Worry
Burn!
My Give A Damn’s Busted
Bring on the Rain
Unmistakable