Brooks & Dunn breeze through their hits and get boots scootin' in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - A floor that crowded wouldn't allow for line dancing.

Ah, but Brooks & Dunn fans at PPG Paints Arena still found a way Friday to shake, spin and slide their feet just a little, as the record-setting classic country band encored with "Boot Scootin' Boogie."

The song that made line-dancing cool in the 1990s ― you couldn't throw a Yinzer wedding without it ― capped off Brooks & Dunn's lively 90-minute performance of honky-tonk country for a nearly sold-out crowd gung-ho to get this weekend going.

Without prompting, fans sang along with "Red Dirt Road," "My Maria" and "Neon Moon," where they were challenged by the duo's Ronnie Dunn to hold that last line a long time. The audience tried, though sidestepping his wife's orders not to be "showboating," Dunn then demonstrated how a professional does it, hitting and holding that last line of "Neon Moon" for an impressive length.

Dunn wore his black ballcap backward most of the time, while musical partner Kix Brooks sported a black cowboy hat, occasionally sipping from a 24-ounce can of Coors. Well, it was Brooks' 68th birthday, and he couldn't conceal his grin as Dunn led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday."

Sharing the vocals all night, Brooks' voice was more rough-hewn but still full of power. The duo's skillful harmonizing highlighted the setlist bookends of "Brand New Man" and "My Maria." Brooks added a righteous dose of harmonica on "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing" and the gritty "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)."

Just like Reba McEntire at the same venue a year ago, Brooks & Dunn kept the pace brisk but didn't sound rushed, only tossing in some light banter, like when Brooks motioned toward fans to his right, in the arena's lower bowl, and asked how they were feeling there on "the hill." It kinda does look like a hill.

Vintage acts like Reba and Brooks & Dunn always make sure to surround themselves with accomplished musicians. Brooks & Dunn's band brought deft but never too flashy fiddle and honkytonk piano that bubbled intoxicatingly to the surface at just the right moments. Abetted by a few guitarists, they conjured a bendy, twangy, feel-it-in-your-gut guitar tone, particularly on "My Next Broken Heart" and "Hard Workin' Man," which had a hard-pounding drum finish.

The crowd cheered when an intro of guitar bursts revealed itself as the country-pop smash "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You."

With this "Reboot Tour" rolling on 13 years after Brooks & Dunn's "farewell tour," it was great to see the influential band in fine form and showing it still has much to offer.

Chief support act Scotty McCreeery set the table nicely, with an engaging set of smartly written tunes sung in that smooth but rugged voice he somehow musters.

McCreery's banter was genuine, upbeat and utterly likable.

He introduced "It Matters to Her" by saying it's his wife's favorite song, touching on all the small but important gestures a fella can do for his lady, like saying "I love you" on the phone, kissing her in the kitchen and picking up a bottle of her favorite wine on the way home from work. Though one particular lyric pleases his wife the most, and he challenged the women in the Pittsburgh crowd to see if they could guess it when he sang it. They chose correctly, emitting a boisterous female cheer once McCreery sang the helpful advice, "When you shut up and listen/To what she has to say."

"Turns out you just want us to listen," McCreery said afterward, noting his wife created a T-shirt with that "shut up and listen" saying, conveniently sold at his merch tables.

The 2011 "American Idol" champ's whole set was entertaining, including his rumbling, thumping ode to taking it easy ("Nothin' Right"), his George Strait cover ("Check Yes or No"), and the touching "Five More Minutes" where fans obliged a request to hold aloft their lit-up cellphones in honor of anyone they've lost and wish they could see again if just for five minutes.

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Exactly one week after her debut album's release, Megan Moroney, 25, launched the concert, and fared rather well.

She's got a pleasant voice and charm and infused a welcome youthful perspective with songs like "I'm Not Pretty" with its talk of "Somewhere out there my ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend's/Scrolling through my Instagram."

The audience richly applauded her breakout hit "Tennessee Orange," a song you just know is being studied and memorized at this very moment by country cover bands and aspiring young singers.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor for The Times and easy to reach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Brooks & Dunn, Scotty McCreery shine at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh