Concert review | Party on, Brad! The good times roll at Paisley's Tacoma Dome show

Concert Review |

You don't put the word "party" in your tour title unless you can guarantee a heck of a time. So it's a good thing Brad Paisley is a man of his word.

"If you've got something you want to forget, we're gonna play every song we know," the affable country singer told a packed-to-the-roof Tacoma Dome Saturday night. "And I know they got beer, too."

While I'm sure guitar whiz Paisley and his band have a larger repertoire than two hours can hold, they hit plenty of highlights. And along the way, Paisley kept the crowd amped up, singing and screaming.

The boot-stompin' honky tonk of "Mud on the Tires" and "Better Than This" set the mood for a raucous evening.

Paisley's band of more than a decade — The Drama Kings — were juiced up, playing fast, loud and tight. On "Mr. Policeman," Paisley and the guys hit breakneck speeds without missing a note.

And even when they slowed the tempo, the energy was still palpable. Paisley relished dropping to a bluesy simmer on songs like "I'm Still a Guy."

With an acoustic in hand during some solo time, Paisley shied from introspection. Instead he whipped through a lighthearted handful of covers: "King of the Road," George Straight's "The Chair" (taking liberties with lyrics), and "Layla."

The night's only really serious moment was a ballad Paisley dedicated to "anyone who's lost someone." But a strange hodgepodge video tribute to everyone from Heath Ledger to Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin diluted the lyrics, despite the well-meaning sentiment.

Known for his creative video work throughout his career, Paisley scored every song with something on the big screen. In general, they worked well to keep the party rolling.

On his pop culture satire "Celebrity," real-life country celebs like Jimmy Dickens and Taylor Swift played along to a "Guitar Hero" version of the song on the big screen. And video allowed Paisley to duet with some of the musicians who have appeared alongside him in the studio. Keith Urban stopped by (digitally) for "Start a Band"; B.B. King for "Let the Good Times Roll"; and Allison Krauss for the lovely and sad "Whiskey Lullaby."

But the night's two instrumentals — from Paisley's new guitar-laden album "Play" — were shown up by an animated short projected on the big screens behind. The video (about the adventures of the band) was clever and drawn by Paisley himself, but I was hoping to focus on Paisley cutting loose — in person.

Paisley has some mean guitar chops, and he gave himself ample room to play. Just about every song had some form of a guitar solo, and they almost all ended with the kind of arena-rock-show noodling that usually wraps up a concert.

But when it came to the end of the show, there were still plenty of notes to wail. The big pre-encore finale was an epic version of his song "Alcohol," a tribute to ... well, you can guess. A fitting way to bring a party to a close.

Joanna Horowitz: jbhorowitz@gmail.com