Blake Shelton brings jokes, hits (and yes, his famous wife) in memorable Acrisure show
Blake Shelton’s Friday night show in Palm Desert was probably a lot like a night spent going shot for shot with the famously hard-drinking country star.
There was the first pour, er song ("Come Back as a Country Boy"), which went down smooth but still carried plenty of jolt. It was then quickly followed up with several more that further quickened our pulse while leaving us smiling from ear to ear. Before long, we were heartily laughing more than I’d ever expected to be over dumb jokes only to then find ourselves sharing a sentimental heart-to-heart like we were old friends.
As the end of the night grew closer, we took some time to savor some finely aged older "juice" only to finally spend our last moments tearing through a bottle of his finest stuff he’d been saving for just that moment.
Then, suddenly, two hours had gone by, my new friend had said his goodbyes and I was left with no choice but to dizzily stumble toward the exit, so tired and sweaty enough from dancing in my seat that I could barely move my legs, but somehow still jonesing for one more sip of Shelton's 'shine. Most of all, though, I felt completely in awe of the energy and stamina of this 47-year-old man from Oklahoma who’d just given me one heck of a good time.
The novelty of a major country arena concert in the Coachella Valley was nodded to early by Shelton, who made multiple joking references to his perception that the desert is less a place for the likes of him to belt out hits then one where people go to do "weird stuff" in the show’s early minutes. But it soon became clear that Shelton was gleefully eating up his time in Palm Desert, with him eventually explaining that “it takes a special person to come to a new arena like this and turn it into a damn bar.”
The bar in this case was not some clever metaphor but a literal statement as the crowd was separated from the catwalk-style stage by an actual bar that wrapped around it. That setup set the tone for a show that featured plenty of boozy vibes, with Shelton sometimes kneeling down to cheers with those in front of the stage between lyrics.
The show got off to a memorable start when a cleaning crew appeared in a section near the stage, presumably after someone's booze didn't sit well, leading Shelton to remark at the end of his opener that while the crowd was there to "drink and celebrate county music," he did want to see any more vomiting.
But that apparent reminder of the consequences that can come with having a little too much fun couldn’t stop the party for more than a moment. Shelton continued with a thrilling show opening run of hits that included “Doing What She Likes,” “I’ll Name the Dogs,” “Neon Light” and a rollicking rendition of “Guy With a Girl.”
It also didn’t take Shelton long to show off the sharp and sometimes biting wit that helped make him the face of the hit TV singing competition “The Voice” for a record 23 seasons.
After playing “Sangria,” he launched into a lighthearted rant about the annoying gesticulations some country artists make to signal the crowd should sing along and then playfully cited fellow country star and frequent barb target Luke Bryan as one of the worst offenders (he later also took joking aim at Keith Urban).
However, he also showed he was willing to point that wit at himself such as when he joked that anyone can sing many of his songs because there is "not too much to them" before encouraging the crowd to sing along to the “hey hey alright” that make up the chorus of “Gonna.”
But while the show featured no shortage of favorites, the most memorable — and anticipated — moment for many surely came around 40 minutes in when Shelton suddenly brought up his departure from "The Voice" last year and how it had allowed him to spend more time working on what he described as his own lackluster guitar skills. He then played a couple of well-known country guitar riffs only to suddenly play the most decidedly un-country notes of alt rock band No Doubt’s megahit “Don’t Speak.”
That signaled that Shelton’s equally famous wife (and former fellow coach on "The Voice"), Gwen Stefani, was about to join him on stage, which she did moments later. Suddenly, the “Back to the Honky Tonk” tour became the Gwen show as the magnetic-as-ever superstar transported the crowd back to 1995 with a goosebumps-inducing performance of the ballad Shelton had teased on his guitar. Shelton then joined her in singing their hit collabs “Nobody But You,” and “Happy Anywhere” as well as the newer “Purple Irises.”
Shelton then reminded the crowd that the valley will get a much bigger dose of his other half when she returns for No Doubt’s first reunion in years at Coachella next month. Then he proclaimed that it was time to get back to country music.
He did just that by launching into a run of older tunes that included “Same Beach,” “Ol' Red” and (what else?) his first-ever hit “Austin,” which still sounds just as good now as when it was first sung by a much younger Shelton all the way back in 2001.
Then came the distinct first notes of the 2019 barnburner “Hell Right” (it sounded plenty good even without Trace Adkins, who accompanies Shelton on the recorded tune), which turned out to be the start of a final run of more recent chart-toppers that also included “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” “Honey Bee” and “’Boys Round Here.” Last but definitely not least was “God’s Country,” which is perhaps Shelton’s biggest hit of the last decade and seemed to be providing a fitting ending to the show.
Except, of course, the visibly sweaty Shelton couldn’t let us leave without hearing the tune that more than any other established him as a force in contemporary country music. And so he reemerged on stage for an encore moments later to really close things out on a masterful note with “God Gave Me You.”
Seems to me the same God who gave Shelton the unknown woman in the song “for the ups and downs” also surely brought him to Acrisure Arena so the venue could experience — with all due respect to Shania Twain — the greatest country party in its young life.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Gwen Stefani joins Blake Shelton on Honky Tonk Tour at Acrisure Arena