Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 7, 1993                   TAG: 9308070159
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISION STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HANK WAS . . . WELL, RELIABLE

He's always playful. Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center was no exception, as he covered the unlikely oldie, "Sea Cruise," and later exposed his hairy chest and bare belly.

Come to think of it, you can always count on him to do that, too.

As always, he opened things up with "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight." That has sort of become a Hank Jr. trademark by now.

He had his big, eight-member band in tow, and as usual, it was a schizophrenic half-country, half-hard rock outfit.

You can always count on Hank to change the words to his songs as the notion hits him. There was plenty of that.

There was the traditional rambling acoustic medley. This time, it included "Attitude Adjustment," "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound," "Country State of Mind," "A Country Boy Can Survive" and Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin," among others.

The acoustic segment proved to be the highlight of Hank's 90-minute set. Especially strong was "A Country Boy Can Survive" and it was unfortunate that he only played a portion of the song in a long medley.

The question with all this reliability is how much is Hank really into it and how much of Hank is going through the motions these days?

For the most part, the audience of 4,271 was as receptive as ever. But people were disappointed when he didn't come back for an encore.

Of course, that is something else you can always count on. Hank never encores.

Aaron Tippin was second on the bill.

A crowd-pleaser, he was a good warm-up for Hank Jr., playing the hell-raising cheerleader routine to its fullest.

"This is what I call a liiiivvvveeee crowd," he howled, for example. Tippin isn't real subtle.

He's just mediocre.

His nasal voice - often an attribute for singing country - is borderline irritating in anything more than small doses. He isn't a singer's singer by any means.

And on stage, he seemed much more interested in pumping up the audience than the music.

To his credit, at least he picks material suited to his vocal limits. His songs do not require too much style or ability, but most of them are catchy enough to carry him along.

Only one, "There Ain't Nothing Wrong With The Radio," truely stood out, but more because of its clever lyrics than because of Tippin.

The opener was Radney Foster, formerly of the country duo, Foster and Lloyd.

Solo now, Foster didn't seem to lack for anything without his old compadre, Bill Lloyd. Fronting a five-piece backing band that was heavy on the snare drum, Foster punched through a brief five-song set of music culled from his debut solo album, "Del Rio, TX, 1959."

The best of the lot was his opening number, the uptempo "Don't Say Goodbye," which showcased his bouncy flair for twangy country rock.

His try at a ballad, "Easier Said Than Done," wasn't as good. Foster showed he had a clear voice, but not one that's particularly strong or distinctive.