2 Worlds, 2 Voices Part 2: Black Boots, Bare Feet and Beer

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Country/Rock Duo - Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire sing an encore for the fans. The singers performed for the "2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008."

Staff Writer

   The queen of country music Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson, the soon-to-be crowned princess of almost every musical genre, belted their songs to another sold-out crowd. The duo performed at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center in Jonesboro Feb. 15 as one of the final stops of their “2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008.”
 
   Melissa Peterman, one-third of the “Three Musketeers,” cracked jokes and sang karaoke for the crowd to warm them up for McEntire and Clarkson.  Peterman seemed to be the only one referring to the three friends as the “Three Musketeers.”  Clarkson laughed, and McEntire simply looked at her like she had three heads.

   By 8:30 p.m., the lights were off, the stage glowed with shades of orange and yellow, and the unmistakable voice of McEntire singing the opening lines of Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams.”  It then shifted into the notes of “Sweet Dreams” by the Eurythmics, and Clarkson was a force to be reckoned with.  The second she opened her mouth, you knew you were in for a special night.

   When the chorus began with “Sweet dreams are made of these,” the curtain rose to reveal the two singers (one much shorter than the other) at the top of a staircase.  As far as what you would expect, the pair looked as though they should switch outfits.  McEntire stepped out wearing her black boots and black nail polish, while Clarkson, signature to her own trend, made her way to the stage barefoot like a country girl running to the creek.  They continued the song as the made their way down the stairs to the stage.

   As soon as the song was complete, McEntire moved in with the line, “Well, back in 1876 an old boy named Bell invented a contraption that we know so well.”

   Clarkson continued the song with the line, “By the 1950s, they’re in everybody’s home.  It’s the crazy little thing we call the telephone.”

   The tag-team lyrics continued throughout McEntire’s version of “Why Haven’t I Heard from You” straight into Clarkson’s “Walk Away.”

   “I want a man by my side, not a boy who runs and hides,” Clarkson sang.

   “Are you gonna fight for me, die for me, live and breathe for me? Do you care for me? 'Cause if you don’t then just leave,” McEntire picked up.

   McEntire shot the note on the word “leave” so high that the audience was literally taken aback.  McEntire took center stage to sing “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.”  Clarkson sang back up vocals, but it was a delight to hear her sing, “That’s the night that they hung an innocent man,” in a country twang.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Tag-Team Performance - Clarkson and McEntire sang tag-team lyrics during part of the performance. The singers performed a variety of genres during the concert.

   McEntire sang back up in return for Clarkson on “Behind These Hazel Eyes.”  Just like a hardcore Clarkson fan, the Reebs even knew to throw in the word “SING!” before the chorus began.

   At that point, the crowd was singing, “Here I am once again. I’m torn into pieces; can’t deny it, can’t pretend, just thought you were the one.”
  
   The tagging lyrics were back for “The Fear of Being Alone.”  The magic came mid-way with the joint line, “So let me bite my tongue and remind myself.”

   The pair slowed the show down for two powerhouse performances of “Beautiful Disaster” and “Sleeping with the Telephone.”

   The show snapped back with an energy-driven performance of “Miss Independent.”
  
   While McEntire rocked the stage behind with back-up singer Carmella Ramsey, the rest of the stage was at the mercy of the Clarkson.  The band kicked in, and Clarkson sang her way from one end of the stage to the other hitting notes I never thought were possible.  The closing line of the song “Real love is true ...” ended with Clarkson holding the note true for about 10 seconds.  The immediate response was a united gasp from the crowd followed by several remarks of “Holy crap!”

   “That was fun.  Reba McEntire from Chockie, Oklahoma rocking out with Kelly Clarkson.  Who’da thunk it?  Not me,” McEntire joked.

   “I thought about it a lot when I was a kid.  I just didn’t think it would actually happen,” Clarkson laughed.

   The two friends now sitting on stools performed six intimate songs while telling stories in between.  “The Greatest Man I Never Knew” started the set.

   Before “Cathy’s Clown,” Clarkson told the audience this was the first song she’d ever heard by McEntire.

   “I was in the sixth grade in Burleson, Texas.  I’d just gotten off from volleyball practice. I was at Amanda Singleton’s house 'cause she had a CD player. and I did not … 'cause I was poor,” Clarkson said.

   “You made up for that,” McEntire laughed.

   “I know, right?  I can pay my bills.  WOO!  It’s a beautiful thing; it’s not funny,” Clarkson joked.

   After the song, it was McEntire’s turn for a story.

   “Kelly’s been very good for me because she listens to all types of music and she’s influenced me to listen to different types of music and step outside the box a little bit,” McEntire said.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Solo - McEntire sings solo, while Clarkson sings backup. The singers worked as a team throughout the concert.

   “She’ll e-mail me songs, and she’ll say, 'Listen to this song.'  The next day she’ll e-mail me back, 'Did you listen to that song?' No, not yet, but I’m gonna get around to it.  'OK, listen to it!'  She e-mailed me this next song we’re gonna do for you, and I liked it.  But then I went out on the road and listened to her sing it live and fell in love with the song, and we put it in the show this year,” McEntire said.
 
   The song, a cover of Patty Griffin’s “Up to the Mountain,” provided one of two emotional moments in the show.  Clarkson sang the majority of the song while McEntire sang a verse in the middle.

  “But I hear your sweet voice; oh, come and then go.  Lord telling me softly, that you love me so,” Clarkson sang on the gospel ballad.

   The notes mastered in this song made it obvious that Clarkson, hands down, is the greatest vocalist of today’s generation.  She received one of the biggest standing ovations I have ever witnessed.

   Story time again, but Clarkson kept it short by telling how she asked to put in some of McEntire’s older songs because it reminded her of dancing with her father and learning to two-step.  They performed “How Blue” and “One Promise too Late.”

   Clarkson’s bluesy ballad “Be Still” followed. 

   “I have to put this in the set or my momma will be mad,” Clarkson said, “It’s her favorite song that I’ve ever written.”

   The intimate set ended and Clarkson screamed “Get up!”

   “Love Revival” began, and it was time to go to church.

   While the lyrics say, “I feel the spirit; the spirit’s moving,” they could not be more right. 

   The entire arena, radiated with energy as rows of clapping and stopping accompanied the band.

   The highlight of the song came with Clarkson’s use of her own instrument, her voice.  

   “'Cause I know what you need; and boy, you know what I need.  This whole dang block knows, this whole house needs a love revival ... love revival up in here …” she belted into the rafters.

   The rock 'n' roll angst in Clarkson returned for the first time this tour for the performance of “Never Again.”  Until this night, she simply sang the song; this time she sang them as if she were breathing fire.

   The lyrics came out of her mouth protruding higher and higher, “Well, if she really knows the truth, SHE DESERVES YOU!”

   The look on her face was the look of a woman wronged one too many times.  My speculation of the reason behind the bitterest performance of this song is because of the state she was performing in.  Arkansas just happens to be the home state of the guy rumored to have dumped Clarkson and got engaged the day after to the woman he cheated on her with.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Slowed Down - Clarkson and McEntire sing "Up to the Mountain." The singers ended their tour in Kansas City, Mo.

   Bring on the tears for emotional song No. 2.   McEntire owned the stage for her heartfelt performance of “And Still.”

   “And still, the world stood still.  I couldn’t move, and all I could feel was this aching in my heart saying I loved him still,” she sang fighting back her own tears.

   At the end of the song, on the verge of crying, McEntire packed the final note of the word “Still” with so much power you could have felt it back in Nashville, Tenn.

   Bow down to the queen of country music.  Tremendous applause filled the Convocation Center.

   “Breakaway” came next, and for a portion of the song they turned the microphones and the cameras to the crowd.  The fans sang the song about dreams coming true, the two superstars on stage grinned from ear to ear.

   The battling duet “Does He Love You” brought out the best in both singers.  For each note sung, the other would return, singing even higher.  The Reebs and KC, though friends, could have shredded each other with their voices in the “How Could You Steal My Husband? I Hate You, so Die” song.  (That may sound harsh, but McEntire did blow up her cheating husband and his mistress on a boat in her 1994 music video for the song.)

   The anthem “Is There Life Out There” followed before McEntire tried to tell a story about her television show “Reba.”

   In mid-story, McEntire was rudely interrupted by the scream “HEY BUDDY!!!” as Melissa Peterman (Barbara Jean on the hit show) rushed to tackle her.

   Peterman chatted with her friends. She said she had never been to Arkansas; so when she found out they were coming to Jonesboro, she was not missing it.

   She pleaded with McEntire to let her sing the theme song with them, but McEntire refused.  She then handed her Budweiser beer to McEntire so she could go talk with Clarkson.

   “Hey look!  The queen of country is holding the king of beers!” she cracked.

   She then decided to make her shirt talk.  On her shirt was a close up of Clarkson’s face.  She scrunched her stomach and made noises as Clarkson fought back tears of laughter.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Interruption - Melissa Peterman plays the triangle in the middle of a song. McEntire and Clarkson allowed Peterman to sit on a stool, but not to sing.

   “Hey, I’m Kelly Clarkson,” she made her shirt say.

   “Now I’m mad,” she said while bending over to wrinkle the face on her shirt as she made her way to Clarkson.

   “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly … How many times were you on our TV show?” Peterman asked.
  
   “Once,” Clarkson answered.

   “Yeah, well I was on it ALL THE TIME! So I thought you might just want to walk away on this one,” she said, while pushing Clarkson out of the way.

   “Oh no,” McEntire said. “We’ve got this under control.”

   Peterman continued begging to sing, and McEntire finally agreed to let her sit on a stool in the corner while they sang.  They had no idea that Peterman would jump off the stool to join them halfway through the song, dancing like a chicken and playing the triangle.

   As the song ended, McEntire asked the crowd to please say goodbye to Peterman as she left the stage.

   “I was on a TV show, but I don’t think I brought any cast members with me.  I hope I didn’t,” Clarkson said before leading into the song she won American Idol with in 2002.

   The pair traded verses on the song “A Moment Like This” before cheering each other’s names at the end, leaving the stage and turning the lights off.

   Five minutes later, the stage was illuminated once again and a sign reading “Reba & Kelly” shined above the staircase.  The opening chords of Clarkson’s smash “Since U Been Gone” began.

   The duo rose up from behind the stage to the top of the stairs and sang their way down to the stage.  Once on the main floor, Clarkson commanded her infamous “JUMP!” only to be met with thunderous jumping from almost the entire arena.

   After the applause quieted, the women moved into their single off of McEntire’s “Duets” album, a re-release of Clarkson’s 2005 single “Because of You.”

   Their impressive vocals did not go unnoticed as they received enormous amounts of cheers after the song.

   “I remember it all very well looking back.  It was the summer I turned 18; we lived in a one-room, run-down shack on the outskirts of New Orleans,” McEntire began.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Jump! - Clarkson commanded the crowd to jump. Clarkson then performed a duet with McEntire.

   “We didn’t have money for food or rent, to say, at least we were hard-pressed.  Momma spent every last penny we had to buy me a dancing dress,” Clarkson sang.

   “Fancy” brought the entire crowd to their feet singing.  The song ended the show leaving the audience with a smile on their faces but somewhat sad that the show was over.

   No matter how sad the crowd was, they could not have been sadder than Clarkson and McEntire who were ending their 15-city tour the very next night.

   In retrospect of the show, the pair stepped up their game from the show I saw in Bossier City, La., two weeks before.  Clarkson’s voice, stronger than ever out-sang McEntire, who sang very strongly.

   Perhaps the most interesting moment of the night came after the show.  In a crowd that was primarily older and in attendance to see McEntire, they did not know much about the little Texan pop-rock prowess named Kelly Clarkson.  However, after the show, they can't help but know her name.

   Clarkson won the hearts of many that night, as all the chatter was about her and her voice.  Comments heard from various people include: “Kelly’s a charmer,” “That girl can sing,” and my favorite of the night, “It wouldn’t surprise me if Kelly carries on Reba’s legacy when Reba retires.”

   McEntire and Clarkson ended their “2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008” the following night in Kansas City, Mo.

   A statement was released by Steve Moore of Anschutz Entertainment Group Live to Reba.com and KellyClarkson.com commenting on the tour selling out, “Since kicking off in Dayton, Ohio on January 17th, the tour played to 15 sold-out crowds totaling over 125,000 people, before ending in front of 13,000 people at the new Sprint Center in Kansas City.

   “We knew we had a special concept, and the fans obviously agreed,” Moore said.

   There are rumors floating around on both McEntire and Clarkson’s fan sites that the tour has been extended for a second leg in September through November of this year.  No official word has been given on the dates other than the two artists saying they would love to do more of these shows.

   I personally hope the dates are real.  If they are, that plants the songbirds back in the Natural State at the Alltel Arena in November.  If the show happens, I highly suggest you get tickets and go.  I know I’ll be there.

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