Pop Reviews : Small Crowd Whoops It Up With Alan Jackson

COSTA MESA —  When Alan Jackson started chasing that neon rainbow a few years ago, he certainly had no idea he’d be headlining huge amphitheaters before he’d gotten his foot out of the honky-tonk. Jackson’s hour-plus concert at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Friday showed that the talented singer is still catching up with his sudden stardom.

Despite a string of hit singles--including “Someday,” “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” and the current “Love’s Got a Hold on You”--Jackson didn’t come close to filling the 18,000-capacity outdoor theater. It was just as well that the fans were clumped into the front and center sections, because Jackson played the huge venue with as little pretension as if he were doing three sets a night at the neighborhood bar. In fact, the way he rushed from song to song made it seem as if he hasn’t realized that he is no longer an opening act, but the star that folks come to see.

Jackson’s best songs are filled with such snappy melodies and clever wordplay that they don’t need supplementary visual effects, and by the end of the evening he had the crowd whooping and hollering and dancing in the aisles. Jackson also introduced three numbers from his upcoming third album that drew almost as strong a response as his familiar hits. This brief but powerful show indicated that Jackson is only about a tour away from becoming one of the major performers of country’s new breed.