Review: Trio, Swift stir crowd

Saturday night’s headlining act at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain was the five-time reigning Country Music Association Vocal Group of the Year, but an 18-year-old from Wyomissing, Pa., almost stole the show.

Rascal Flatts, the popular trio that always puts on a great live show, and Taylor Swift, the fast-rising superstar who is currently sitting atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, combined for three hours of electrifying country music at the Moosic amphitheater.

Swift, who wore a sparkly silver dress and black boots, was a ball of energy as she stormed through seven of her biggest hits. She opened with “I’m Only Me When I’m With You,” and had the crowd on its feet from the first note.

She strummed a silver acoustic guitar on the second number, “Our Song,” the song she wrote for her ninth-grade talent show that later became her first No. 1 hit. That was followed by “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Change,” which was featured on the Olympics broadcasts and is currently at No. 10 on the pop chart.

She then sang the current No. 1 country song, “Should’ve Said No,” which tells the tale of a cheating former boyfriend.

“Don’t break my heart or hurt my feelings,” she later told the audience. “Or I will write a song about you.”

She closed with “Tim McGraw,” her debut single and lead track from her triple-platinum self-titled debut album, and a splendid version of “Picture To Burn,” which showcased her impressive vocal abilities.

Rascal Flatts made a memorable entrance as a streaming light streaked across the backdrop then came crashing into the curtain with a loud bang. Then the trio of lead vocalist Gary LeVox, bassist/vocalist Jay DeMarcus and guitarist/vocalist Joe Don Rooney were lowered from the rafters as they sang “Still Feels Good,” the title track of their latest album, which has sold 2 million copies and was their third consecutive record to debut at No. 1.

The trio, which was the top-selling act of 2006, followed with their rocking cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life Is A Highway.”

After the ballads “Every Day” and “Stand,” DeMarcus jokingly welcomed the employees of Dunder Mifflin to the show and told the crowd why he loves coming to Scranton.

“The first reason is y’all are proof that you can find two-fisted, beer-drinking, biscuits-and-gravy-eating rednecks everywhere. The second is that no matter what time of the year we come here, it’s always hot and I’m not talking about the weather.”

Other highlights of their 1-hour-and-40-minute set included “These Days,” “My Wish” and “What Hurts The Most.”

They also played “Take Me There,” the No. 1 hit co-written by Kenny Chesney, and “Bless the Broken Road,” which won the 2006 Grammy for Best Country Song. They ended their set with “Here’s To You,” which rocked harder than most of the other numbers.

Rascal Flatts then treated the crowd to an encore of “Me and My Gang” and “Bob That Head.” They then brought Swift out to do a duet on a scorching cover of Bryan Adams and Tina Turner’s “It’s Only Love,” which, incidentally, was popular three years before Swift was born.

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Rascal Flatts and singer Taylor Swift bring rousing country show to Montage.

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