Brad Paisley: Life Amplified World Tour Live from WVU

In this PBS-aired Great Performances special, Grammy Award-winning country star Brad Paisley performs for a 20,000-strong crowd at West Virginia University. Showing his hometown pride by way of the WVU jersey he wears with requisite cowboy hat and jeans (he is later joined by the local Mountaineers cheerleaders for a number), Paisley is backed by his band, the Drama Kings, which includes players on fiddle, guitar, steel guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. Paisley kicks off with the celebratory "Crushin' It" in this energetic 20-song set during which he frequently communes with the audience, dazzling them with quicksilver guitar solos played on a succession of glittery guitars. During the song "Water," Paisley spots a fan with a guitar, calls him over, signs it, and returns it while Justin Williamson saws away on the fiddle. During "Mud on the Tires," Williamson gets his own solo spotlight (but it's nearly impossible to hear him). If most of Paisley's songs revolve around simple pleasures, he also addresses social media in "Online," quipping that "I grow another foot and I lose a bunch of weight every time I log in." He also relaxes the crowd with slower songs such as "Letter to Me," switching from electric to acoustic guitar, and duets with Chris Young on "I'm Still a Guy." Presented in DTS 5.1 and stereo, this is also available in a DVD/CD Combo edition. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)