Concert review: Three decades on and Tim McGraw’s still got it

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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Much like his fellow ’90s country stars Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, Tim McGraw continues to draw crowds. About 14,000 folks showed up Saturday night to see McGraw’s concert at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

The difference, though, is that not only does McGraw still score radio hits, he’s never really taken a substantial break in the 30 years since he released his breakthrough single “Indian Outlaw.”

As such, he played his two most recent singles — “Standing Room Only” and “One Bad Habit” — and earned the same gleeful response as everything else in the show. “Indian Outlaw” didn’t make the cut, but over the course of 20 songs, McGraw revisited key moments from throughout his career.

McGraw, who turns 57 on May 1, opened with 2012’s “Truck Yeah,” a kind of dumb novelty song from a guy who typically avoids them. But the song’s sonic swagger made for an energetic taster for the well-paced show.

It also served as a reminder of the strength of McGraw’s top-notch band, the Dancehall Doctors. Three of the eight players are guitarists and they’re occasionally joined on the six string by multi-instrumentalist Jeff McMahon and McGraw himself to create a real wall of sound. At one point, McGraw called them “the best band you’re ever going to hear” and while that’s stretching it, the Dancehall Doctors easily stand among the finest in country music.

From there, McGraw hit the ’90s (“Just to See You Smile,” “I Like It, I Love It”), ’00s (“Red Rag Top,” his cover of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”) and ’10s (“Felt Good on My Lips,” “Shotgun Rider”). He ran through a truncated version of his 2004 Nelly collaboration “Over and Over” and sang with (a prerecorded) Taylor Swift on 2013’s “Highway Don’t Care.”

For his encore, McGraw showed his tender side, which probably has plenty to do with his longevity. After 2001’s “The Cowboy in Me,” he played his two biggest hits, 2016’s “Humble and Kind” and 2004’s “Live Like You Were Dying.” When he wrapped the former, he had the crowd sing back the chorus a cappella: “Let yourself feel the pride but always stay humble and kind.”

It was tough at times to hear McGraw’s voice, which was too low in the mix. Beyond that, though, he turned in a solidly entertaining show that suggests he’s still got plenty of terrific years ahead of him.

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