The Totally Unofficial Tanya Tucker Fansite

Concert Review

“LET FREEDOM SING” AT EVANSVILLE’S CASINO AZTAR --

Saturday September 17, 2005 was not only a beautiful fall like day in Evansville -- there was a TNT explosion at Casino Aztar and the bomb was none other than Tanya Tucker. Even with more than 30 years of performing behind her she proved once again she still is just as much of as entertainer as ever.

 This concert was a benefit for the families of Indiana and Kentucky’s military. The show began with a speech and tribute to the US Military. A veteran sang our National Anthem and several soldiers marched out and led us in The Pledge Of Allegiance.

 Once the tribute was over a local artist Eric Agnew took the stage as opening act. He was definitely talented and did some original songs as well as songs by Charlie Daniels and Toby Keith. Then Tanya’s band came onstage and did a few songs. I was impressed by her keyboard players bluesy version of Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You”.

 Finally a little after 9pm it was TuckerTime. Tanya came out to a packed audience in black from head to toe looking flawless. She opened up with “Some Kind Of Trouble” and “I’ll Come Back As Another Woman” with her voice just as raw and unique as ever. She was very enthusiastic, talking and joking with the audience throughout the show. She talked to some ladies in the audience she’d met earlier at Cracker Barrel where they’d served her the best chicken and dumplings. She also joked about a man who had tried to sell her a truck earlier that day and let it be known her last name was Tucker not Sucker. Tanya also spoke about our country, the troops and our President. She said whether we liked him or not we needed to stop "cussing" him and pray for him and our country and talked about how she wouldn't want his job. She said it was her first time at their Casino and joked about bringing the Wheel Of Fortune game to her room so she could gamble (in peace I assume). Her son Grayson was with her but daughter Presley wasn’t there to sing and she let us know her baby Layla was with her ex-fiance in Nashville before she sang “A Memory Like I’m Gonna Be” from her 2002 CD “Tanya” which she had someone hand her onstage. Speaking of TuckerTime she joked that should’ve been the name of her new reality show TUCKERVILLE starting in October on TLC.

 She belted through songs like “It Won’t Be Me”, “Oh What It Did To Me”, “Strong Enough To Bend”, “San Antonio Stroll”, “Hangin’ In”, “Walkin’ Shoes”, “Love Me Like You Used To” and “Down To My Last Teardrop”.  I finally got the chance to hear her sing one of her many #1’s for the first when she broke into “Lizzie And The Rainman” which had the crowd in her hands. Before she did her medley of the other older songs like “What’s Your Mama’s Name”, “Blood Red And Going Down”, “Would You Lay With Me” and “Jamestown Ferry” she joked that she could actually sit on a stool and sing without unbuttoning her butt fitting jeans. She also turned around and gave us the view her band always has of her which got a laugh and lots of whistles. She spoke about how her parents had been married over 60 years and dedicated “Two Sparrows In A Hurricane” to them. The band got to show some more of their talent during “It’s A Little Too Late” and before her classic encore of “Delta Dawn” she treated the audience with her version of “America The Beautiful” for our US Military.

 Tanya really rocked the Ohio River Saturday night. She proved once again no matter what anyone thinks she has more than earned her place in country music history as a real entertainer. She will definitely go down in history as a country music legend who was never quite appreciated or acknowledged enough. If there’s one thing this audience walked away knowing it is that Tanya Tucker’s definitely still got it!

Review by Mark (KY)