Gill bowls ‘em over at Boulder

Leah Robinson

Monday, Feb. 3, 2003 | 8:23 a.m.

Sitting for four hours on a rear-numbing plastic seat has never been so good.

On Friday night a crowd of about 600 was treated to an extra-long show from country singer Vince Gill at the Railhead inside Boulder Station. The fans loved it and Gill's energy never flagged as he sang ballads to bluegrass and everything in between.

"Ya'll all right? You don't have anywhere to be, do you?" Gill asked his audience more than once as 10:30 p.m. came and went.

"Keep going!" a voice answered back from the dark amid whistles and applause.

"My room's just 100 feet away from here, so I'm good," Gill joked.

He and his band never left the stage, feeding off the crowd's enthusiasm. Indeed, Gill achieved a rare concert trifecta: superb vocals, excellent instrumentals and wonderful storytelling.

"I was watching that movie 'Ocean's 11,' you know the one that's all about Las Vegas, and there's that scene where George Clooney asks Julia Roberts how she's doing with the new casino guy and she says to him, 'He never makes me cry,' and I thought, 'Julia, that's good, thank you,' " Gill said, explaining the spark that helped him write the song, "She Never Makes Me Cry."

The track appears on Gill's newest album, "Next Big Thing," due in stores Tuesday. Gill's three performances (he also performed Thursday and Saturday at the Railhead) kicked off a 16-city "Back 2 Basics" tour to promote his first studio effort in more than three years.

All the tour stops will feature small, intimate venues -- an environment in which Gill clearly thrives.

His sparkling tenor is best heard up close, especially on favorites such as "My Pretty Little Adriana," and "I Still Believe in You." The lilting, melodic quality to Gill's sound is as deep as it is warm.

Looking fit after losing more than 30 pounds, the 46-year-old Gill wore baggy blue jeans and a tan shirt. He was at ease all night, shifting easily between songs and stories and even entertaining a request or two from the audience (somehow still happy to be sitting on those horrible chairs).

Gill performed several unfamiliar songs from his new album, but he was gracious enough to tell the stories behind them. Audience response was positive, affirming Gill's obvious instinct for what works.

One of those new songs, "Real Mean Bottle," a traditional love-lost, searching-for-comfort-in-a-drink country standard, came about from a casual conversation with a seasoned guitar player.

"He was telling me about a time when he played on a song with Hank Williams Sr., and he told Hank when they got through, 'That was the saddest song I've ever heard,' and Hank said to him, 'It was a real mean bottle that wrote that song.' I tucked that away and wrote the song later," Gill said.

Two other new songs, "Young Man's Town," and the title track "Next Big Thing," were fan favorites.

Gill consistently connected with his audience, alternatively reflective about his long journeyman's career, then quickly comical. The subjects for his anecdotes ranged wildly: such as the time he pretended he couldn't sing at a hotel karaoke bar in Washington state. Then there was the first time he met Barbra Streisand (complete with Gill mimicking Bab's New York accent). Or Gill's favorite impression: his chain-smoking, overall-wearing, 300-pound father.

But Gill's penchant for storytelling is second only to his prowess with the guitar. Whether it be acoustic or lead electric, Gill burned up the stage with long rock 'n' roll riffs and complicated bluegrass finger dancing.

To rip off a popular commercial, Vince Gill at the Railhead: priceless.The people who chose those horrible plastic seats for the Railhead: heartless.