Keepin' It Strait

George Strait and the Ace in the Hole Band sauntered through the Big Smoke last night in their characteristically understated manner and treated a few of us at the Molson Amphitheatre to an evening of down-home country music and western swing. This was my third Strait concert, but the first in a venue of less than 50,000. Several years ago, Alan Jackson took a shot at Garth Brooks' circus-like show in emphasizing that he (Jackson) just sings, without ropes or pyrotechnics. George Strait, with no set, few lights, and minimal conversation, makes Alan Jackson look like KISS. Strait loaded his set with hits starting with Unwound, through Heartland, to The Seashores of Old Mexico, with a swinging detour at Milk Cow Blues. Fiddler Gene Elders has never disappointed me on Amarillo By Morning. Toronto is the antithesis of a George Strait song and it was refreshing to listen to stories about the decency and tranquility of south Texas under a startlingly pink Lake Ontario sunset.