Sugarland concert review: Rimac Field, UCSD (July 23, 2011)

Mom and I attended the Sugarland concert this past Saturday at Rimac Field on UCSD's campus in La Jolla. It was the first time either of us had seen them live, and we were equally excited. Despite it being general admission and standing room only, and being a country concert so half the people were drunk and stupid, we both enjoyed ourselves.

Obviously I can't speak for her, but here's my review!

We had a great spot, situated behind a family who had sprawled blankets and chairs out - so the chairs were a great decoy for me standing behind them (they prevented people from standing right in front of me) and the family used their blankets as territory so no one else could stand on them. Thus, we had a great open space between us and the rest of the packed crowd in front. I don't know how far back we were, but I really had no desire to fight the drunks up closer to the stage so I stayed put. We met up with a Jovi friend of mine (Marissa) and her friend Cyd, so we had company and someone to talk to while we waited.

After four hours of sitting, staking our claim, kicking crowd-crashers off our vantage point, and listening to openers Casey James and Sarah Bareilles, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush FINALLY made an entrance on a stage ramp with the opening song, All We Are. (Which, by the way, is the PERFECT opening intro, and I had been hoping they'd use it!)

The electricity in the air was palpable: it was a beautiful, clear summer night, the band was full of energy, and Jennifer is one hell of a frontwoman. She has so much spunk and fire, and knows how to both seduce and rile up the crowd at all the right times. And she's FUNNY! Whether she was coyly flirting with the firemen who pulled their truck and ladder up to the fence at the perimeter of the field, or blowing kisses to a toddler in a cowboy hat sitting on his father's shoulders, she kept the crowd entertained, stimulated, and laughing.



Kristian, while somewhat quiet in Jennifer's shadow, backs her up perfectly. He's a great musician, and has a beautiful voice - I LOVED when he performed the Incredible Machine interlude featured on the album. And he has gorgeous eyes! LOL I only noticed that for the first time during the show, when I was zooming in with my camera to get a headshot of him.

They played all their hits, with a nice balance of songs from their latest album (duh, it's the Incredible Machine TOUR) and previous albums: including my favorites Baby Girl and Something More. They engaged the audience and had us clapping, singing the choruses, harmonizing, etc.



Halfway through the show, Jennifer mysteriously asked us if we liked surprises. Naturally the crowd roared, and she informed us that Kristian was giving his guitar away TO ONE OF US. I about keeled over. Unfortunately, we were too far back to even have a chance, so we watched as each of them signed the guitar in Sharpie right there on the stage, then looked around to find the lucky fan. Suspense built up as Kristian walked the length of the stage, from one side to another, until he finally hopped off and ventured deep into the crowd on the far left side, accompanied by security, and gave away that guitar.

The rest of us couldn't see him (although a spotlight indicated his location, lol), including Jennifer, who remained on stage and watched the big screen with us. When he returned, she interrogated him: "Well, was it special? I couldn't see it - we were trying to watch on the screen but we couldn't see ya." LOL it was so natural and casual, and not staged...it seems like a minor thing, but that really adds to the atmosphere of the show.



When Kristian sang the interlude, Jennifer spray-painted the tour/album's slogan "LOVE" (with a peace sign in the 'O') on a huge white flag, then handed the flagpole to a little girl in the audience. I found out later that this was prearranged (the girl wasn't randomly selected right then) and she was led around the field, parading the flag through the audience. It was a really beautiful act - one of those concert moments you'll always remember.



My favorite part of the show, however, came in the second half...during the transition from the previous song to the next, I thought I recognized the chords as a Bon Jovi song. I literally laughed to myself, thinking I was insane - you know you have a problem when you hear one band's music in another band's concert.

And then Kristian strummed his guitar, and there was no mistaking it...it WAS a Bon Jovi song. Well, one they wrote WITH Sugarland. ;) "Who Says You Can't Go Home", anyone? I about died.



Now, let me clarify something: I actually hate that song. LOL. I have heard it live SO many freakin times that I literally groan when Bon Jovi plays it (and after 13 Jovi gigs, you'd get sick of it too.) When Jon starts his "It's all right! It's all right!" I want to throw a shoe up on stage.

But Saturday night was different. It was cool to bring a little Jovi into the Sugarland gig, and since they wrote it together it WAS fun to hear them perform it for once. And to top it all off, it's Mom's FAVORITE Bon Jovi song (and thus, Sugarland song), and since she'll probably never hear Jovi perform it live, I was so excited that she got to hear it that night. So I set aside my normal groans and protests of "It's NOT all right!" and danced/cheered more than I did during any other song.

Hey, I have to represent the Jovi love, ya know?!

The show was a bit short (about 1 hour 40 minutes) because of the campus curfew, which I expected, and since we had been standing or sitting on the ground for so long, my joints ached. And we had hardly eaten all day, so I was hungry AND sore, and the length of the show ended up being a good thing.



All in all, I had a fantastic time and I DEFINITELY want to see them again. I especially love Jennifer's stage presence and contagious energy, but they all do a great job of engaging the crowd personally and doing much more than just singing and playing instruments. I felt like I was right on stage with Jennifer when she danced, strutted, and flirted, and calling attention to various parts of the crowd (the firemen, the little boy with the cowboy hat, the girl with the flagpole, and whoever got the guitar) is a fun way to unify us all.

Plus, this was my first concert with my new camera (Canon PowerShot SX30 IS), and thanks to Marissa's help with the manual settings, I am VERY happy with my photos.

Can't wait for the next show!


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Here are a few videos from the show (not mine):




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And here are the rest of my pictures: