An Outsider No More, Eric Church Shines In Des Moines

Eric Church has always branded himself as an outsider.  His latest album is called, The Outsiders, and it makes no secrets about his feelings on the issue.

They’re the in crowd, we’re the other ones
It’s a different kind of cloth that we’re cut from

Church brought his The Outsiders world tour to Des Moines Wednesday night, and it appears the "outsider" has been accepted by the masses.  A near sell out crowd watched Church tear through currents hits like Cold One and Give Me Back My Hometown and some older tunes like These Boots and Pledge Allegiance To The Hag.  And this was pure country ROCK.  No fiddles, steel guitars or piano.  The real instrument is Church.  He can sound angry and yell and scream the fiercest of lyrics, and in the next moment churn out a tender soft spoken ballad.  The guys got range.

Negatives?  The opening acts were simply OK.  The Brothers Osborne need more materiel, and Dwight Yoakam doesn't exactly appeal to today's country audience.  And Church also did NOT do an encore.  A bit surprising, but I can honestly say he sang every song I wanted to hear from him.

If you haven't seen Eric Church live yet, you need to.  He'll be in Jones County next summer.  His show is full of raw energy and is not to be missed.  He's no longer an "outsider".  He's at the top of his game.