Tritt, Little Texas show off new face of country music

Country music fans got to hear Travis Tritt’s greatest hits Sunday night at the Bangor Auditorium. But they didn’t get a whole lot more music from the performer.

Tritt, recently nominated for five Country Music Association awards, was scheduled to play from 9:15 to 10:45 p.m., according to Mike Dyer, marketing director for Bass Park. But that isn’t how the concert came off.

“There was some kind of disagreement between the promoter and the artist, that may have carried over from the show in Portland the night before,” Dyer said. He added that he wasn’t sure what was the cause of the friction between Tritt’s entourage and Encore Entertainment, the promoter.

Tritt’s publicist, Nancy Russell, pointed out that the singer had too much to do in too little time, as she said dozens were given access to the backstage area and wanted to meet him, mirroring the situation in Portland the previous night.

“The promoter overextended the artist’s commitment,” Russell said. “We had no idea how many different radio stations were involved. It was a complete night of surprises.”

Tritt and his five-member band didn’t take the stage until 9:25, 45 minutes after opening act Little Texas had left the stage. The delay was caused by a large “meet-and-greet” session backstage, where Tritt met with representatives of sponsoring organizations and radio-station contest winners.

Russell explained that Tritt generally arrives at an arena an hour and a half before each concert for such events, and has about 45 minutes to meet with his fans.

“He enjoys meeting his fan-club members and radio contest winners, because they’re who put him where he is,” she said. “Usually we can handle 12 to 18 contest winners and four radio staffers, for a quality `meet-and-greet.’ But there were 50 people backstage, with another 40 waiting to come in. We can’t accommodate so many people.”

Tritt, dressed in a fringed red leather jacket, black T-shirt, and blue jeans with red leather accents, gave an energetic performance with a rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere, as he jumped, hopped and spun about the stage.

In his hour-long set, he performed all his hits, including “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” “Put Some Drive in Your Country,” “Drift Off to Dream” and the title cut from his 1990 album “Country Club” and “Anymore,” “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” “The Whiskey Ain’t Working” and the finale “Bible Belt” from 1991’s “It’s All About to Change.” He did his current single “Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man,” the Elvis Presley cover “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” “Looking Out For Number One” and “Leave My Girl Alone” from his new album “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”

Tritt also played tribute to his influences, starting with a rocking version of Bob Seger’s “Night Moves.” Tritt, playing banjo, and his band also showed off their musical chops with a little “backporch pickin’ ” on “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.”

Standouts in Tritt’s band included Jimmy Joe Ruggiere on harmonica, Wendell Cox on electric guitar and Tim Passmore on fiddle.

But then came 10:25 and Tritt and his group were gone, and didn’t return for an encore despite sustained applause from the paid crowd of 3,633. Indeed, Tritt’s bus was spotted leaving by concertgoers headed for their cars. It had been a long weekend for the Georgia native.

Opening act Little Texas showed the direction country music has taken. The sextet had rock ‘n’ roll looks and moves to go with their country sounds.

Lead vocalist Tim Rushlow was a personable frontman with rock ‘n’ roll roots. His father, Tom, was the lead singer of the ’60s band Moby Dick and the Whalers.

The band split up their 40-minute set between their original material and covers of classic tunes. Little Texas did its debut single “Some Guys Have All The Luck” and its current hit “You and Forever and Me,” and also performed the originals “What Were You Thinkin,’ ” “Baby Cry On,” “What Might Have Been” and “First Time For Everything.”

Although Little Texas is young, with band members in their 20s, they are already polished musicians, especially lead guitarist Porter Howell, bassist Duane Propes and keyboardist Brady Seals.

Seals quickly became a crowd favorite for his feverish rendering of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.” First Seals played keyboard with his hands, then with his butt and his feet. As the band broke into “Wipeout,” Seals climbed onto his keyboard, riding it like a surfboard. He whipped off his shirt and stuck the microphone down his pants, provoking shrieks from many women in the audience.

With showmanship and musicianship, Little Texas is a band to watch.