FORT WORTH -- There were ample clues Saturday night that Bass Hall was hosting no ordinary concert.
For starters, there were arguably more bold-faced names in the seats than onstage; Jerry Jones, Roger Staubach and Mayors Robert Cluck and Mike Moncrief, among others, were spotted.
And before the evening's main attraction, country superstar Faith Hill, appeared, emcees Joe Buck and Troy Aikman cracked wise about the night's sponsor, Frito-Lay, while introducing the many initiatives, such as Slant 45 and Taste of the NFL, to be undertaken by the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee.
The occasion for all the glitter and good will was the first installment in the committee's Kick-off Concert Series, an unprecedented undertaking among such groups. Over the yearlong march to Super Bowl XLV in February at Arlington's Cowboys Stadium, the committee is mounting this concert series in part to help defray some of its costs but also to keep awareness high about next year's game.
Hill, low-key and amiable throughout her hit-heavy set, also broke with convention. Stopping to take questions from the giddy audience, Hill seemed to revel in the intimacy. (Well, as intimate as a space as grand as Bass Hall can feel.)
Early on, her enthusiastic vocals, backed by a five-piece band and three backup singers, threatened to overtake the proceedings. Hill had never before played Bass Hall, and apparently no one told her that bombast rarely plays well with nonorchestral shows -- really, just let the room do the heavy lifting. But she found her groove after the pause for questions, allowing smash singles like The Way You Love Me and covers like Maybe I'm Amazed to get the crowd engaged, with a minimum of overemoting.
In a way, the raw, loose feel of the band -- Hill signaled cues to the ace musicians a couple of times; toward the end, she let loose with a few notes that would make Jennifer Nettles quake in her boots -- provided a nice contrast with the high-toned folks watching appreciatively. Whoever comes next in the Kick-Off Concert Series would do well to emulate the mix of ragged and refined.
Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic. 817-390-7713
