Nightlife / Music

Sugarland entertains with a rollicking show

By David Burke | Tuesday, July 29, 2008 | () comments

Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, performs before a packed grandstand at the Mississippi Valley Fair Tuesday night. (John Schultz/Quad-City Times) Buy this Photo

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Sugarland’s concert Tuesday night at the Mississippi Valley Fair was definitely worth the wait.

Not the wait through thunderstorms that threatened to cancel the opening night’s grandstand entertainment at the fair, but the two years for Sugarland to make good on a promise to return.

The duo canceled a 2006 fair date with about 48-hours notice, due to singer Jennifer Nettles’ cold. (Sawyer Brown filled the bill in a pinch.)

Twenty-four months, two albums and numerous hits later, Sugarland returned to perform one of the most energetic and freewheeling shows the fair grandstand has seen this decade.

Fair general manager Bob Fox estimated the crowd at 23,700, numbers that are usually saved for later in the week than a Tuesday night show.

Dressed in a turquoise tank top and black pants, Nettles slinked across the stage with unbounded energy throughout the 80-minute show. The uber-charismatic singer showed her singing chops in everything from a bluegrass-tinged album cut to a flat-out rocker in a loyal remake of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

Guitar and mandolin player Kristian Bush, the other half of the duo, made his tracks on stage as well, complementing Nettles especially on the heart-tugger “Stay.” Usually relegated to the occasional backup vocal — and Harpo Marx-esque takes in the duo’s videos — Bush stepped up to the mike to sing Jon Bon Jovi’s half of the Nettles duet “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?” which introduced her to a pop-rock audience a few years ago.

They both had their share of crowd pleasing moments, particularly autographing a guitar and placing it in the hands of a random fan in the audience.

The two sang their catalog of hits, including “Baby Girl,” “Settlin’” and “Something More,” as well as a few cuts off the new album “Love on the Inside,” released last week. That included the CD’s first single, “All I Wanna Do,” which is No. 3 on this week’s Billboard chart and already an instant singalong.

A superb five-piece band, including Brendan Bush, Kristian’s brother and keyboard player for the rock band Train, backed the two.

The light show was one of the more elaborate the fair has seen, and Sugarland’s own video screen, which alternated between videos and live action, complemented a new video screen added to the grandstand this year.

This is the third time Sugarland has played the area, after a June 2005 date at the former Quad-City Live and a May 2006 date opening for Kenny Chesney at the former Mark of the Quad-Cities.

With the trajectory the two are on, the hits they’ve produced and the entertaining show they perform, expect them to hit center stage in the major arenas before you know it.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.

See excerpts of Sugarland’s Mississippi Valley Fair show at qctimes.tv