Outside the Bangor Auditorium Thursday, die-hard country music fans braved the year’s coldest night huddled in their pickups with their stereos cranked up. A favorite track seemed to be “I Got My Game On,” Trace Adkins’ testosterone-driven tale about one man on a mission in a nightclub.

By 9:10 p.m. the wait was over as the 6-foot 7-inch country star took the stage. Dressed in a black hat, long black coat, black jeans, black boots and a brown leather shirt, the superstar looked almost superhuman as he belted out “Game On” to a packed house of more than 2,000 people. You have to admire the nerve of a man who would flash a picture of himself as People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive onto a huge video screen.

The 46-year-old Louisiana native was in fine voice throughout the night as he performed a dizzying 19 songs in 90 minutes. Most of them were culled from his greatest hits CDs. A strong seven-member band and fine sound and lighting gave the show an even more polished feel than Adkins’ last Bangor stop in January 2006. And his rapport with the audience proved why he’s at the top of his game.

“It’s good to be back,” he said in a deep baritone voice. “Everyone back home has been calling me. They’re watching The Weather Channel and they’re saying, ‘Where you’re at, Bang-ger? It’s 20 below!’ I said, ‘Yeah, I strapped my golf clubs to the back of the snowmobile,’ but that’s a lie. I told them it was wicked cold.”

Adkins mixed ballads and high-energy hits to hold his audience. He performed “Swing,” “Songs About Me,” “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing,” “Dangerous Man,” and “Hot Mama.” And what would a Trace Adkins concert be without the steamy “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”? (If you have to ask, you’ll never understand.)

The patriotic “Arlington” and the family-oriented “You’re Gonna Miss This” showed the singer’s tender side.

After the show’s 10:35 p.m. finale, the audience streamed back out into the frigid night. Many were smiling, no doubt pleased at getting a lot for their money ($39.75 for all seats). That price included two popular opening acts: country newcomer Justin Moore, and Luke Bryan, who got the crowd on its feet with his hit song, “All My Friends Say.”

Adkins’ “American Man Tour” moved on to Lewiston’s Androscoggin Bank Colisee Friday night, proving once again that country stars give it their all night after night, regardless of whether it’s Nashville, Tenn., or some small city up in wintry Maine.