The legendary country star delivered a packed 90-minute set
The man who blew open the gates barricading rock and roll and honky-tonkin’ country music, Dwight Yoakam, took the stage at Anthem Friday night (May 31st).
He opened with a throwback: a cover of the Carter Family’s “Keep on the Sunny Side,” which dovetailed into “Please, Please Baby.” Yoakam played over a 20-song set as the light hit a low-pulled ten-gallon hat. The image creates an inimitable silhouette: that hat, collar, and slanted stance are known the world over. The Elvis-like flair in Yoakam’s strut-and-strum persona is undeniable.
Speaking of Elvis, some of Yoakam’s most beloved numbers are Elvis covers. “Suspicious Minds” closes this night with the anthem, the perfect example of Yoakam’s denim-clad ability to straddle old-fashioned rock and traditional country music. Other covers present included the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire” and a tribute to “Streets of Bakersfield” writer Buck Owens. Yoakam performed an impassioned rendition of Owens’ “Think of Me,” noting that he avoided his friend’s material while Owens was alive. He’s since recorded a Buck Owens tribute record.
At the Anthem, Yoakam and his band pulled what can only be described as a “reverse Porter Wagoner.” While Yoakam was clad in his trademark popped-collar jean jacket, his band was adorned in crystal-white rhinestone blazers. The classic look on a stage with no screens and minimal lights completed the time travel back to a truly classic (bygone) era of the country music stage show.
Yoakam’s aforementioned rhinestone-adorned players were tight, never overpowering his pleasantly nasal twang as it soared across the room. The four-piece behind him seemed to genuinely enjoy playing this music. In particular, his guitarist added flair by making big pin-wheel strumming motions
By the time “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Fast as You” rolled around, the crowd seemed to have realized that all that honky-tonk music made time, indeed, go fast. Please, please Dwight: put those guitars in your Cadillac and bring the hillbilly music to DC again soon.
