Back in July, Little Big Town was scheduled to perform at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Just a couple of weeks before the scheduled July 3 show, the quartet released a statement saying Jimi Westbrook needed surgery to remove a polyp from one of his vocal chords.
Little Big Town said the band would reschedule all of the cancelled shows—and the group made good on the promise to perform at Fantasy Springs, on Friday night, Sept. 11
The night began with an opening performance from Ashley Monroe. Monroe has had a lot of success in her brief career. The Nashville star has a side project known as the Pistol Annies with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, and has performed with Jack White and Third Man Records. Unfortunately, her performance was a little flat on Friday. There wasn’t much to her sound at times, and some of her live material just didn’t impress.
When Little Big Town took the stage, the nearly sold-out crowd at Fantasy Springs was quickly on its feet and roaring as the group kicked off the set with “Day Drinking.” Jimi Westbrook obviously had a quick recovery from his surgery; he was right on harmony with Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads Schlapman and Phillip Sweet.
Little Big Town’s live show is excellent, energetic and well-rehearsed. Whether the group is singing a country ballad or performing a song with a kick, the members play exceptionally well together. They know how to work the crowd—and the crowd responds right back, with loud ovations, clapping and singing along.
All of the songs seemed flawless, yet some stood out, especially “Little White Church,” “Sober,” “Girl Crush,” “Tornado,” “Stay All Night” and “Boondocks.” During “Girl Crush”—a newer song that was pulled from some radio stations over lyrics that could be taken as promoting lesbianism—the audience showed no problems or discomfort. “Stay All Night” lived up to its name; the band could have done just that, and the entire audience probably would have stayed to listen.
“Boondocks” was a perfect closer, performed as the band said goodbye while the lyrics were shown on the onstage video wall.
Setlist
- Day Drinking
- Quit Breaking Up With Me
- Front Porch Thing
- Pain Killer
- Bones
- Faster Gun
- Little WhiteChurch
- Bring It on Home
- Tumble and Fall
- Smokin’ and Drinkin’
- Sober
- Your Side of the Bed
- Live Forever
- Turn the Lights On
- Stay All Night
- Tornado
- Pontoon
Encore
- Girl Crush
- Boondocks