Photos by V.E. Photography
LeAnn Rimes has been captivating audiences since she first burst onto the scene at just 13 years old. Three decades, numerous albums, and a successful television career later, she’s back on the road—and she stopped in the Nation’s Capital to deliver The Voice. The Journey. The Truth. in one unforgettable night!
Friday night at the Warner Theatre. The time is 8:00pm on the dot and the lights dimmed in the venue. Once we heard the sweet subtle cry of “Blue” sung the legendary LeAnn Rimes, it was on! LeAnn came out dressed in a candy apple long red dress and asked the crowd “DC, how you doing?” before going into the song that had put her on the map three decades. Armed with a band consisting of a drummer, bassist, guitarist and pianist, Rimes sounds timeless in her signature song that it takes me back to when I first heard it.
After finishing “Blue” she proclaimed that “we’re here to celebrate 30 years my friends.” If there’s one thing I appreciate about artists of my generation is how they kept their god given gift in tune after all these years. The second song she performed was “One Way Ticket” also from her debut album Blue. LeAnn sounds just as good when you first heard it back on the radio in ’96. During the song, LeAnn noticed some people in the crowd singing along and encouraged them to sing it along with her. Towards the end of the song, she gave a little mash-up with the late Tom Petty’s Learning to Fly with the greatest of ease. A great combination that earned praise from the crowd.
“30 years at 43, it feels very strange to say” as LeAnn talked about how some people back in the day thought the songs that she had sung at the tender age of 13 was way beyond her years but she understood now why she should never recorded the next song “My Baby” at that young age. We got another mashup when she combined this song with Peggy Lee’s Fever. Whoever created these mashups for the tour, major kudos to them.
She continued with her setlist with “Life Goes On” and if you had your heartbroken then this was the perfect song for you. I remember hearing this song back in 2002 and it spoke to me as a song about letting go of the past and moving on with life. It’s crazy to believe that it’s been so many years since I first this and still rings true to this day. After this, she lets us in her “inner world”. Rimes informed us that on the flight here to DC that she had the worse case of acid reflux and warned us if we heard any strange voices throughout the night, we know the reason why. Thankfully, we didn’t hear any strange voices, only the sweet voice of LeAnn giving us the memories of her music.
During some of her song breaks, LeAnn kept teasing us about a movie that she did when she was only 17 years old, a movie where she got to dance in a bar. Before going into one of the movie songs she contributed, “But I Do Love You”, she talked about the great working relationship with the legendary composer Dianne Warren. Also mentioned about the costume choice for her appearance in the film that she went from “America’s Sweetheart” to what she described as wearing “chicken cutlets” as part of her sexy outfit. When she belted “For the Right Kind of Wrong”, I noticed a couple of women in front of me dancing and singing along as the felt the music in them.
We got to see a vulnerable side of LeAnn when she performed “The Light in Your Eyes”. She informed us that with that song, she had to fight during that time in her life. She broke down a bit during the song and she wasn’t the only. I had tears in my eyes myself and the crowd showed their support by putting their cell lights in the air and gave her a standing ovation when the final note hit, it was well deserved. She told us that she cried because of the deep connection she has with the song, and we understood what she meant.
With every song Rimes performed, you truly felt the passion, pain and the promise of a test tested performed. By the time we got to the 12th song of the night, she finally delivered the song we were teased about for so long and got the crowd out of their seats – from Coyote Ugly “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”. It was during the song where she allowed her four bandmates to shine with their mini solos. And then, she wanted us to have a karaoke moment as we sung the chorus to LeAnn! It was perfect!
Then we got another LeAnn hit- the one that truly defined her career for these 30 years. The song was “How Do I Live?” Tonight’s arrangement is one that you must see live to truly appreciate. It was done with LeAnn’s voice and the sound from an acoustic guitar. It was just perfect for the Friday August night, beautifully done and stretched her notes to the greatest highs.
The 30 Years of Blue didn’t just remind us how much we love LeAnn; it gives us a chance to see the young performer still in her prime – creating a sound that has stood a generation. 30 years in business and we still love LeAnn Rimes; how can we live without LeAnn? Something tells me – we should never know the answer to that question, but we’re blessed that we don’t have to answer it tonight
FINAL GRADE: A++
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