Concert Review: Easton Corbin

Easton Corbin proved he’s “A Little More Country Than That” at his performance at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey on October 5.

Originally scheduled for March 17 but postponed due to inclement weather, Corbin brought his brand of country music to Montclair and left the crowd more than satisfied.

First up on the bill were the Dead Winter Carpenters. It is almost hard to describe their sound, as the guitar was turned up so loud, it was difficult to hear the rest of the band. They also went on almost random musical tangents during the middle of songs, sometimes two, even three-minute-long guitar, fiddle, drum, or bass solos that really didn’t fit with the song they had interrupted for the outburst. During some sequences, it almost seemed like they were trying to showcase how fast each member could play their respective instruments. Their performance seemed to split the audience, with about half enjoying their musicianship and the other half being confused at what had just happened.

Corbin took the stage with “That’ll Make You Wanna Drink”, an album cut from his self-titled debut album and a pleasant surprise to longtime fans. When he broke into his hit “Lovin’ You is Fun” next, it was evident that this was going to be a great night.

Corbin moved to more radio friendly songs “Clockwork” and “Yup” from his latest album “About to Get Real” before going on to a moving performance of his hit song “Are You With Me”, where he asked the crowed to shine the flashlights on their phones as Corbin delivered the song with great emotion.

Another pleasant surprise came with another album cut from his debut album, the story song “A Lot to Learn About Livin’,” with Corbin adding a snippet of the Jimmy Buffett hit “Margaritaville,” which received a load ovation and loud singing from the crowd.

Corbin moved on the hit “A Little More Country Than That” before delivering another moving performance of the “I Can’t Love You Back.” It was noticeable that some of Corbin’s brightest moments were his delivery of his ballads.

The only hiccup of the night came when Corbin broke into a “country cover” of Justin Bieber’s hit song “Love Yourself.” This was a crowd splitting moment with some thrilled to hear current pop music incorporated in this way, while longtime fans and traditionalists weren’t as fond of the performance.

Corbin rebounded with the hit song “Roll With It” from his debut album. This was followed by an acoustic performance of the album cut “Tulsa Texas” from his “All Over the Road” album. With just Corbin and his guitar (and a little bit of pedal steel in the background), this was the highlight of the night both sonically and emotionally.

For his encore performance, Corbin opened with a high-energy cover of Tracy Byrd’s “I’m From the Country” before breaking into a medley of Brooks and Dunn’s “Play Something Country,” Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” and Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” Each of these songs received great ovations and singing from the crowd before Corbin ended his set with the crowd favorite “All Over the Road.”

Although they could not disclose the exact attendance of the event, the Wellmont Theatre wanted to stress that there was a “packed house.”

Overall, Corbin delivered a great night of country music that left the crowd more than satisfied, proving once again that there is still an audience who appreciates and supports traditional country music in New Jersey.

Easton Corbin Setlist at the Wellmont Theatre: October 5, 2017

• That’ll Make You Wanna Drink
• Lovin’ You is Fun
• Clockwork
• Yup
• Are You With Me
• A Lot to Learn About Livin’
• Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett cover) (snippet)
• A Little More Country Than That
• I Can’t Love You Back
• A Girl Like You
• Love Yourself (Justin Bieber cover)
• Roll With It
• Tulsa Texas (acoustic)
• Baby Be My Love Song

Encores

• I’m From the Country (Tracy Byrd cover)
• Play Something Country (Brooks and Dunn cover) (snippet)
• Should’ve Been a Cowboy (Toby Keith cover) (snippet)
• She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy (Kenny Chesney cover) (snippet)
• All Over the Road

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