Country music star Lee Brice and his band stopped by the Orpheum Theater Sunday night as part of the Jagermeister Country Music Tour. The last, beer-soaked Madison stop would be the happily-received last in a multi-week, cross-country tour.
Brice emerged a few minutes after 9:30 p.m. equipped with his signature backward black hat. Backed by a six-piece band, Brice opened with one his most popular songs, “Drinking Class.” It was well received by the audience, who sang along with every word.
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Brice’s popularity continued through songs from his three albums, Love Like Crazy, Hard 2 Love and I Don’t Dance. “Hard to Love” was particularly well-liked by the crowd.
The Nashville native wasn’t without his humble theatrics. Before the song “Beer,” Brice took a bubbly beverage out of the mini-fridge on stage. He cracked open the brewski in front of the microphone and told the crowd it was his favorite sound in the whole world.
The middle of the show became a family and friend affair, with Brice bringing up first his friend and opener Josh Dorr. Dorr provided a soulful respite from the otherwise straightforward country music. Next, Brice brought his brother, Lewis, on stage to perform a track slated to be released on a joint record the two are currently working on.
Next, Brice played the song “Don’t Sound Like You.” The emotionality and tenderness of the song really showed in Brice’s performance. If he has any advantage over other artists like himself in country music today, it would be his ability to write sweet and vulnerable songs. This is particularly appreciated in country’s current testosterone-soaked landscape.
But, Brice’s vulnerability unfortunately trickled into his performance stamina. Multiple times Brice left the stage for a few minutes at a time. Once, near the end of the set, he left his drummer to do a drum solo. Brice is only 36 … is he incapable of doing a full show straight through?
The last two songs of the set were composed of smash hits “Love Like Crazy” and “Parking Lot Party.” The excitement carried through an encore, when Brice played his most popular song, “I Don’t Dance.” This is one of Brice’s most tender songs and came off as such live. Including snippets of Magic’s “Rude” and Bruno Mars’ “Treasure” showed Brice’s willingness to incorporate risks in his set.
But, Brice’s charm was continually impeded by the most troubling part of the evening: blatant corporatism. Jagermeister branding was everywhere in the theater and Brice pimped the alcohol brand in his banter, too. Art has a long history of being subsidized with people or groups with a lot of money to spend, but having branding so heavily play into the concert experience made it feel like Brice sold out his fans a bit.
Despite this, Brice gave the fans what they wanted musically and the crowd undoubtedly left happy.
