
DATE: Saturday, September 13, 1997          TAG: 9709130373

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Concert Review 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER  

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   58 lines

BEACH AUDIENCE CHEERS HANK WILLIAMS JR.

The only country music show at the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater this year was raucous, riotous and rowdy. And that was the audience.

A 4 1/2-hour show began with a quickie 15-minute set by Jo Dee Messina, who signed off with her new single ``Bye Bye.''

Then came Charlie Daniels and his band. The veteran performer reprised as many of his multitudinous hits that he could fit into his 40-minute set.

The outspoken Daniels alternated between singing and talking as he voiced his strong opinions about ``Ellen,'' saying that she should go back into her closet. He gave TV and politicians hell.

The stage was his soapbox. He decried the violence in American today, suggesting that rapists, child molesters - whom he described as the lowest people on Earth - should be hung from the nearest tree. That was shortly followed by a powerful version of ``How Great Thou Art.''

The highlight of the Daniels set was a smoking version of the ever-popular ``Orange Blossom Special.''

Next up was Travis Tritt, offering a lengthy set of Tritt hits. It was a mix of ballads and up tempo, concentrating on the latter, his sock-it-to-'em voice filling the amphitheater. Most of the applause on his set was saved for some of the ballads as he milked the endings, holding onto those notes and blasting them handsomely for all he was worth.

It was a good set, but cheapened by reviving last year's Travis Tritt-Billy Ray Cyrus feud. Tritt felt it was necessary to put Cyrus down.

Each act in the show was rowdier than the one before. The bulk of the applause, cheers and stomping was saved for Hank Williams Jr. He did not disappoint - his giant-sized voice created the excitement that is synonymous with a Hank Williams Jr. performance. While some performers seem to work hard at working an audience, Williams does it naturally.

There were, of course, the tributes to his dad, plus plenty of familiar Hank Jr. songs. The lengthy Tritt set cut into Williams' time. He didn't even come out for an encore.

As expected at shows such as this, the audience sometimes went bonkers. There was a lot of beer, aisle-dancing and inspirational smooching. As noted earlier, this was the amphitheater's only country concert of 1997. Perhaps, fans should stage a protest for more country for next season. ILLUSTRATION: TING-LI WANG photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Travis Tritt offered a lengthy set of hits at the GTE Virginia Beach

Amphitheater Friday night. In the venue's only country show of the

season, his set was a mix of ballads and up tempo, concentrating on

the latter. His sock-it-to-'em voice filled the amphitheater.

The outspoken Charlie Daniels used the stage as his soapbox, saying

``Ellen'' should go back into her closet.

Graphic

MUSIC REVIEW

Hank Williams Jr., Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels and Jo Dee

Messina Friday night at the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater.