You have to appreciate mega stars that don’t forget about the fans that don’t just live in the big cities or on the coasts. You rarely have to worry about that with major country stars like Jason Aldean. Aldean made his second appearance at Wells Fargo Arena in two years (and 7th career Iowa appearance) on his “We Were Here Tour” Thursday night to a crowd of just over 10,000.
Each time Aldean comes back to the state, his stage production grows as much as his fan base. Aldean arrived on stage after floating on a platform to the screams of the crowd. Aldean was dressed in his usual tight button down, flared jeans, and his signature low-worn cowboy hat. Aldean’s band roamed a stage that looked like it could be used by just about any rock band out today. It’s a continuing trend where the lines between rock, metal, and country are becoming less and less defined.
Early in the set, Aldean took time to introduce his guitarist, Des Moines native Kurt Allison to the crowd by saying, “Tonight is a bit of a homecoming for one of our guys in the band. Lincoln High School if I remember right.”
Aldean made sure to make all sides of the crowd feel loved and welcome at the “We Were Here Tour.” The three-pronged catwalk stage gave him and his band plenty of room to get up close with the crowd. The stage even had built-in microphone stands that would come out of the ground whenever Aldean needed or was nearby. When he wasn’t connecting in person, he was connecting with lyrics like when he placed a shout out to Des Moines in “Fly Over States” – a term Iowans know all too well.
Aldean and his guitarists took a moment to recognize that his large body of work couldn’t fit into a single show (without going obscenely long). This gave Aldean an opportunity to play a stripped-down medley of a few of his bigger hits including a shortened version of his smash duet with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”
Aldean’s energy on stage seemed to not infect the 10,000+ at Wells Fargo Arena. Many in the crowd swayed along, tipped and dipped their cowboy hats, and waved their tallboy beers in the air, but outside of the general admission pit, the crowd was almost timid. When prompted, the crowd would oblige with yelps and cheers, but given the choice, Des Moines could have given more for this kinda party.
Openers A Thousand Horses and Thomas Rhett were certainly no throw-away acts. A Thousand Horses, the night’s openers, hit the stage looking every bit the part of a Southern rock band. You’d possibly confuse them with The Black Crowes, even before they played a cover of their classic, “Hard to Handle.” Rhett on the other hand is ready to jump off of the support act stage and headline a tour of his own. His energetic, radio friendly set included a fan proposal on stage during his hit, “Die a Happy Man” and a jaunt into the crowd to take selfies with his growing throng of fans.
Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena may not have turned into a full-blown party, but Jason Aldean definitely didn’t send the crowd home disappointed. He managed to cram in plenty of his hits and a good helping of songs from his latest album, “Old Boots, New Dirt.” You can imagine that Aldean will be back in the coming years with more hits, more flash, and hopefully my kind of party.
Photos: Jenna Nelson for Jenna Nelson Photography
JASON ALDEAN SETLIST
Just Gettin’ Started
Gonna Know We Were Here
Take a Little Ride
When She Says Baby
Night Train
Big Green Tractor
Tattoos On This Town
Fly Over States
Tonight Looks Good On You
Medley: Asphalt Cowboy/Why/The Truth/Don’t You Wanna Stay
The Only Way I Know
1994 (with Thomas Rhett)
Johnny Cash
Amarillo Sky
My Kinda Party
She’s Country
Dirt Road Anthem
Hicktown
ENCORE
Burnin’ It Down
Crazy Town
