Brad Paisley’s fingers danced along the slender necks of his guitars, sometimes with the rhythmic fury of the best tapdancer, sometimes with the grace and precision of a prima ballerina. One after another, he coaxed every soung possible from those instruments.

And that’s just what Paisley the guitarist does.

There’s also Paisley the singer, whose ability is often overshadowed by his stringsmanship and his big personality. Case in point, his performance of Remind Me, his duet with the ethereal Carrie Underwood. Performing that challenging vocal alongside the reigning queen of country music — and America’s favorite Idol — has definitely improved the strength of Paisley’s voice.

Photos: Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Jerrod Niemann perform at the Cruzan Amphitheatre

Then there’s Paisley the entertainer. During Paisley’s H2O II Tour at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach Saturday night, Paisley made several forays into the audience to get closer to the fans, anything to make his show –- even in the largest venue, I’d guess -– a more intimate experience. Paisley has never depended on a lot of special effects but he does have dozens of video screens – at least 60 I’d say – and he uses them well. We’re always treated to some of Bradimation and on an extended version of the western riff, Eastwood, we saw tons of it. (And a little homage to Folsom Prison Blues.)

Paisley has never lacked confidence or enthusiasm, two very important qualities in a star. But he’s been able to achieve that while still revealing his vulnerability in love songs like She’s Everything, and he encouraged the guys in the audience to ‘get it done’ with this song. Right on cue, couples started dancing in the aisles.

If you go to a Brad Paisley concert to hear 15 songs all about the same thing, you’ll be disappointed. I think the most interesting thing about Paisley – and maybe about country music – is its social conscience. Country music is full of ‘teaching,’ and it’s a kissing cousin to Christian music, as Paisley admits in This is Country Music. And Paisley asks us to think about things: About Alcohol, about Celebrity, and of course about fishing and women. I’m Gonna Miss Her got some of the biggest cheers of the night.

But so did When I Get Where I’m Going, one of the most spiritual songs ever written. Paisley always shows photos of people we’ve lost during this song, and not just people we’ve lost recently. I’m sure Dale Earnhardt, who always draws a huge reaction from the crowd, will always be part of the montage. But when we saw the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as the final shot, and this concert taking place on the eve of the 10th anniversary, prolonged cheering and chanting of USA filled the amphitheatre’s pocket.
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A (thankfully) overcast sky greeted an estimated 18,000 Brad Paisley fans at Cruzan Amphitheatre tonight. As promised the music began way before sunset with three opening acts on the Water World Stage. A lot of people showed up early to take advantage of the early bird performances.

At 7:25, Justin Moore kicked things off with some in-your-face country rock with Back That Thing Up. In his plaid shirt, white hat, aviator sunglasses, and Wranglers, Moore looked every bit a star. why, his belt buckle was bigger than a deck of cards! As an opening act, you couldn’t ask for more enthusiasm. He got the biggest reaction from his No. 1 smash Small Town USA.

As a crescent moon rose in the southern sky, suave, sexy Darius Rucker put on his Nike baseball cap and deliver a solid set, but I wish he’d play more of his country songs and fewer Hootie hits. And he may like Prince’s Purple Rain but for me, the novelty has worn off.

It isn’t like he doesn’t have plenty of material. His debut album was a stellar piece of work, and I would’ve been happy to hear anything off it. Heck, he could play the whole thing front to back and I’d be thrilled.

Rucker’s family was taking advantage of the last week before school starts — Dad brought the kids along and dedicated It Won’t Be Like This for Long to them, saying, “This song is for my babies. I love you all so much.”

Then it was time for the man of the hour. Make that hours. As in two solid hours of music.

Of course, this is the H2O Tour, so Paisley kicked things off with Water, his current single, climbing out of an imaginary pool, in a red T-shirt, white hat and jeans. Tons of video screens, lasers drawing pictures on the ceiling of the amphitheatre, beach balls bouncing wildly through the crowd, and a highly mobile Paisley kept crowd on its feet for most of the show.

And it was a friendly, enthusiastic crowds that had plunked down their money to see the superstar. I was struck several times by how loudly they sang. And how well! And when he called on them to do their part on American Saturday Night, they didn’t disappoint him. “Live from West Palm Beach,” he said, and in unison, the crowd answered: “It’s Saturday night!”

Stealing a page out of Keith Urban’s playbook, Paisley took his act out to the cheap seats this time — in this case, the lawn — saying that’s where his seats always were.
And when Paisley got romantic with She’s Everything, so did couples in the audience, joining together to dance or kiss, despite the heat. It was obvious how much that song means to so many people.

It’s also obvious how much Andy Griffith means to Brad. Not just because he’s obsessed with television show, but because he keeps Waiting on Woman in his act, with the video of Andy playing alongside his live performance. New this year was a clip of Griffith — who plays guitar — singing the Crawdad Song accompanied by Paisley on guitar.

Another song still in the set is the classic Alison Krauss duet, Whiskey Lullaby. Still one of the best songs ever.

Paisley’s guitar solos seemed a little scaled back from previous years. Still stellar as ever, there didn’t seem to be as many and they didn’t seem to last as long. More quality than quantity. And Paisley can coax any sound he wants out of that instrument.

Wisely, sometimes the video screens and all the special effects get turned off and it’s just Paisley performing. Those moments are priceless. That’s when you feel you’re actually in an intimate venue, that he’s performing for just a few fans.

No Paisley concert would be complete without a little animation. The biggest cheer came when an animated Godzilla flipped BP the bird.

You get the feeling from watching Paisley that he’s still having more fun than you are. He still tries to keep in fresh, to offer up new and better ways to entertain. The man truly has a gift and I’m glad that he comes back once a year to share it with us.

Justin Moore barreled onto the country music scene this year and racked up his first No. 1 song with “Small Town USA”. He’ll open for Brad Paisley at Cruzan Amphitheatre on Saturday.

Where are you today?
I’m on the bus from Minnesota to Texas, a rather long drive. I’m one of those guys I can ride the bus for three straight days but I don’t want to fly for two hours.

It’s obviously not the normal lifestyle and it takes some getting used to but we’re fortunate we’re as busy as we are.

The toughest part is I have a 5-and-1/2-month-old daughter now and a wife and it’s tough to be away from them as much as I am, but I’m hoping it will pay off in due time.
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Want to meet Brad Paisley? Help him bail out the food banks.

Load up your pick-up, and bring that food out to Cruzan Amphitheatre between 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday. The person who brings the most food by weight will be thanked personally by Paisley at his post-show meet and greet.

The food will replenish local supplies for Feeding South Florida, formerly the Daily Bread Food Bank, which distributes approximately 24.3 million pounds of food each year in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.

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Some up-and-coming R&B stars are uniting for Budweiser Superfest, which is making a stop at the Bayfront Theater at Miami’s American Airlines Arena on Aug. 19.

Anthony Hamilton, KEM, Jaheim and Raheem DeVaughn will be playing the show, for which tickets went on sale today.

The show has amazing range, from Hamilton’s smooth alt-soul style to KEM’s amazing stage presence.
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Apparently, South Florida can’t get enough of those divas.

First, Lady Gaga announced she’ll play both the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and American Airlines Arena in Miami in April 2011.

Now Shakira is scheduling the same venues — she’ll be at BankAtlantic Center on Sept. 25 and then hit the AAA on Sept. 27. Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday.
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With the announcement of the seven show Country Mega Ticket today at Cruzan Amphitheatre, this year promises more country music locally than ever!

Following some incredibly satisfying entertainment at the South Florida Fair — I saw Luke Bryan, David Nail and Chris Young — we have a brand new festival at Cruzan and the South Florida Fairgrounds.

The first- even WIRK Rib Round-Up kicks off the season on March 6, promising sweet and spicy ribs and extra-tasty entertainment.

Billy Currington is the biggest name on the bill. His second Billboard No. 1, People Are Crazy, topped the chart last summer. Also performing: Vero Beach’s Jake Owen, Darryl Worley, American Idol’s Josh Gracin and newcomer Josh Thompson.
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Full list of winners | Photos

It was a night for upsets at the Country Music Association’s Awards show last night.

The biggest was Lady Antebellum snagging two awards – Single of the Year for I Run to You, and even more shocking, the trio bested shoe-ins Rascal Flatts for Group of the Year.

Newsworthy but not so shocking: Taylor Swift walked away with several awards including the Entertainer of the Year award. At 19, she was the youngest nominee ever, and as a winner she’ll probably hold that record for a good long time.
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Janis Fontaine: Swift wins big, sings badly
Full list of winners | Photos

All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.

Swift quickly shed her opener status and shook up the music world with an incredible year that included the best-selling album, a concert tour that sold out almost immediately and, now, a historic night at the CMAs that included becoming the youngest winner of the association’s highest honor.

“Yeah, next year we’re not going to take any opening acts out,” Brad Paisley said jokingly.

The CMA’s more than 5,000 members – often cited as a conservative bunch – seemed as taken with Swift as the rest of the music world has been. She won all four awards for which she was nominated, snapping Kenny Chesney’s streak of four entertainer wins in the last five years and Carrie Underwood’s three-year run as top female vocalist.
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This year’s CMA Awards will be broadcast live Wednesday from the Sommet Center in Nashville. You can watch from 8-11 p.m. on ABC.
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return as hosts of the show for the second time.
Here’s a complete list of the nominees for the 2009 CMA Awards and my picks for the winners:
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