miranda lambert at the sprint center was a grand display of the finest boots in kansas city. my friend grace & i were no exception. pic of our boots forthcoming... we arrived fairly early after ambling around kc's ever-changing downtown where vacant old factory buildings r becoming high rises hidden behind billboards advertising techn9ne concerts in the blink of a very steady & slow midwestern eye. much like me, kc's downtown glows with the promise of all-night fun but mostly shuts down around 10pm. u cannot deny its (our) charm.
the last concert i wrote about on my fantastic pulitzer award-winning blog was mary j. blige & truly sometimes it seems miranda's music follows mary's like god's fingers touching adam's on the sistine chapel ceiling (most of the music i listen 2). where mary j's songs dwell in the reflection stage, looking ever ahead in triumph and dignity, miranda gives a little look back to the past w/ real, human spite. simply existing, we learn that vengeance is the aftertaste of being wronged. in probably her best known song, she sings, "cant get revenge and keep a spotless reputation / sometimes revenge is a choice u gotta make" miranda pens "petty bitch anthems" w/ a graceful hand that lolls in country's wordplay but refuses to idle on a beach, in the back of a car, on the porch. they r songs of action--a relentless desire that electrifies, its tendrils strangling our common sense. they r songs of heartbreak or nostalgia that tug at yr heart until u fall in2 a collective but restless mourning. they r songs, of course, of revenge.
i am a miranda lambert fan because, like mary, her voice carries a really vibrant grit. the tune carries a feeling as much as the words. it's a voice built for sorrow as much as redemption. it knows how 2 turn suffering in2 a public display & in doing so, we r invited 2 join along. as i am leaving the sprint center a nearby husbo remarks that her voice isn't as good as carrie's (underwood) & my friend has to quiet me as i begin to shit talk 2 high heavens. it's not about the technical proficiency!!! call me when carrie's protagonists aren't just slippin their abusive husbands a lil poison in the cocktail; miranda's got us out there on the stoop w/ gun loaded & thousands of women stand alongside her screaming "if he wants a fight well now he's got one he ain't seen me crazy yet". if ur husband cannot recognize the difference between these two singers please leave him at home!!!
miranda's openers were one soft hot country boy w/ chiseled abs & then, as my friend grace pointed out, a band that looked like that man's band cryogenically aged 15 years. they of course rocked but as much as rock is intoxicating, they simply were not the miranda lambert i had been waiting 2 hear. when miranda took the stage we all went absolutely hog. the three college girls sitting in front of us who had been chaotically snapchatting about 5 selfies a minute immediately stood & put their phones (mostly) away. this is the raw power of miranda lambert. miranda was wearing a western shirt w/ pink fringe & a snakeskin pattern etched in fragile gold, exhaustingly hot frayed black denim shorts, black boots, fish nets. what do u wear when u r ready 2 reveal ur greatest flaws & desires & fantasies--reader, look no further.
i don't know if miranda is one of the best performers i've ever seen, but she puts on a show in the smilin' & stompin' department & so i will always be in attendance for a good time. her new album has some tracks of frankly strange arrangement. "mess with my head" is a little like an 80s pop song, "track record" has beachy riffs that are like indie surf rock 2009 (country is always about 10 years behind in the pop dept). miranda is sick & lets the audience know--she's never shied away from the opportunity to be vulnerable, in fact her music is driven by it. her songs are proud to be made of feelings. her actions hold them w/ the greatest esteem. she sings well in spite of a setback bc her voice comes from its root.
she plays a rendition of baggage claim that ends w/ that "i'm feelin' alright" song, following a cover of "say you love me." she pulls out classics like "white liar" & "kerosene" & "mama's broken heart" which make me scream. "all kinds of kinds" has a dog slideshow & during "all comes out in the wash" a shirtless man drifts amidst the bubble suds. "gunpowder & lead" has an anime-style animation where a woman is poised & ready for what comes next. i would kill 2 b miranda's graphic designer. "pretty bitchin" is an anthem for minor victories, "all comes out in the wash" an ode to small mistakes. "the house that built me" causes the sprint center to glow by smartphone light, as tears fill everyone's eyes. u can't go home again but u can build a monument 4 everything you've left in the past. we r here kneeling at its feet, our next move inches from our fingers.
