Country legend Alabama still a state of mind

Leah Robinson

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003 | 8:24 a.m.

When: Tuesday.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

Tickets: $87-$1,002.

Rating (out of five stars): ***

The heart of Dixie was relocated to the heart of the Strip on Tuesday as legendary country band Alabama played Las Vegas for what could be the last time.

Alabama kicked off "The American Farewell Tour" to a packed crowd of about 4,400 at Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Two hundred diehard fans doled out $1,000 per ticket, which included a custom-made Les Paul "Alabama" electric guitar, great seats and pictures with the group.

"We came 2,600 miles to be here tonight," said frontman Randy Owen, charting the distance between Las Vegas and Fort Payne, Ala., Owen's hometown and the inspiration for much of the band's music.

Appropriately, the stage was dressed to transport the audience back to northern Alabama. A huge replica of a covered railroad bridge, broken in the middle, teetered above the band and rested on Kudzu-covered rocks. A cloudy skyscape was projected from behind and changed with each song from season to season, night to day.

The "outdoor" set was a fitting backdrop for the band's opening song, "Pass It on Down" -- a pro-environment warning about spoiling Earth before future generations get to enjoy it.

There was no opening act. However, a brief video montage detailing Alabama's 25-year run whipped up the crowd's anticipation.

Owen, his cousins Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook, and drummer Mark Herndon took the stage quickly and played five songs -- including the megahit "The Closer You Get" -- before stopping to take a breath.

Musically, the band delivered a powerhouse effort, showcasing both its instrumental skills and vocal harmonies. But if fans were hoping to hear some nostalgia, they were surely disappointed.

New Year's Eve, with its quickly approaching midnight deadline, could be one reason for the lack of reflection. Still, one or two walks down memory lane would have been nice.

Owen talked about the most recent time Alabama played Las Vegas, just after Sept. 11 when the band didn't know if it would be stuck in town for several days. At that time, they asked the audience to sing "America the Beautiful" to them as a comfort.

"It was such a confusing time. I know for us and for everyone it felt so different, so unusual," Owen said. He asked Tuesday's audience to once again sing "America the Beautiful," offering his microphone.

As the voice of Alabama, Owen sounded pure. His enthusiasm and energy were almost enough to forgive his wardrobe -- a distractingly ugly black shirt with a gold chain-link fence design. On the big screen he looked like a walking geometry lesson.

Clothing aside, Owen connected with the crowd on every level, but especially on upbeat songs like "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)" and "Dixieland Delight." He even had some couples slow dancing in the aisles to "Feels So Right," the quintessential Alabama ballad.

Cook and Gentry took the lead on a couple lesser-known songs, only managing to break the connection with the audience. When Owen left the stage, he took the energy with him.

Fortunately, most songs showcased the incredible family harmonies between Owen, Cook and Gentry that helped make Alabama famous.

At the show's end, a rousing encore of "Tennessee River" and "When It All Goes South" infused the swaying, lyric-mouthing audience with a final farewell.

But not before one member of the band began to play "Auld Lang Syne," on the saxophone prompting Owens to say, "Does anybody really know the words to this song?"