THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100403
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music Review
SOURCE: BY SUE VANHECKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 41 lines
Dwight Yoakam gave as good as he got Tuesday night.
On his first visit to Hampton Roads, the country crooner was warmly welcomed by an eager audience that cheered his every move at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater.
In appreciation, he delivered an unforgettable evening of stellar song and showmanship.
Singer and guitarist Yoakam is a fearless musician, not at all shy about mixing traditional honkytonk with swaggering rock 'n' roll, evidenced by his ricocheting opening salvo.
Clad in his trademark trousers, Yoakam ripped through ``Never Hold You'' from his new album ``Gone,'' then followed with a rousing cover of the Presley hit ``Little Sister'' and the neo-hillbilly ode ``Guitars Cadillac'' from his 1984 debut of virtually the same name.
Yoakam is also master of the nuance-rich vocal.
His impeccable phrasing of emotive cracks, hiccups, snarls and stutters were especially effective on slower numbers like the languid waltz ``Two Doors Down'' from the 1993 album ``This Time'' and Gone's countrypolitan weeper ``Heart of Stone,'' with its Floyd Cramer-ish piano parts and sentimental Owen Bradley-styled orchestration.
Yoakam's longtime guitarist, arranger and producer Pete Anderson also turned in an astounding performance, blithely pulling off skittering picking, weeping slides, hollow-bodied twangs and rough and tumble rock 'n' roll riffs with equal aplomb.
Opener David Ball also presented a fine set of neo-traditional country, which included the crowd-pleasing set closer ``Thinkin' Problems,'' the Grammy-nominated single from his 1994 album of the same name. ILLUSTRATION: VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
Singer and guitarist Dwight Yoakam is a fearless musician, not at
all shy about mixing traditional honkytonk with swaggering rock 'n'
roll, evidenced by his ricocheting opening salvo. by CNB