By Adam Lucas

 

KANSAS CITY—This was one of those nights.

                  

When the Free the Machine tour is over, everyone will have their favorite show. Maybe some people will argue for Green Bay. Indianapolis will have some supporters. St. Louis could be sitting in the parking lot tailgating as we speak.

                  

But you will not be able to have the discussion without Kansas City. 

                  

There are some days that being Eric Church is work. Some days are filled with radio politics and awards bullshit and everything but the music.

                  

Then there are nights like Friday. You just drove over six hours from Little Rock straight through the night and the crew didn’t start building the stage until 9 a.m. and there’s another show tomorrow night. But then you stand on that stage in front of a sold-out crowd and they sing every word of the last 20 years back to you. Those nights are the reason why you wanted to do this in the first place.

                  

Every night left on this tour now has a lot to live up to. That’s OK, though, because you should want to be Kansas City. This crowd had fun and they had it all—flags and signs and drinks and an Earnhardt flag during “Talladega” and, over and over again any time there was a quiet moment…

                  

“Chieeeeeeeeffffffff!”

                  

  Of all the shows on this tour so far, this felt like the night that the crowd and Church were most in sync. 

                  

They took “Drink In My Hand” from him, simply carried it away on their own and provided their own chorus. They owned “Creepin’.” When they arrived at the oh-oh-oh-oh-OH part of “Springsteen,” Church coached them, indicating with his hand that he wanted just a little bit more on each repetition. They perfectly followed the progression with him. Finally, when he held his hand the highest it could go, they were virtually screaming back at him.

                  

“That’s my people right there!” he shouted.

                  

“Chieeeeeeeeeeefffffff!”

                  

These were indeed his people, from the pit to the first row of section 208, in the upper reaches of the arena, where a loyal fan named Jack held a sign that read “My First Church Service.” Jack had come with his parents, who estimated they’ve seen Church a couple dozen times. But now Jack was finally old enough to join them, holding his sign and wearing his Chief hat.

                  

And Jack is probably hooked, because it’s hard to imagine anyone coming to this particular show and not wanting to do it over and over again. Even the professional musicians on stage were impressed by it. Backup vocalist Moiba Mustapha stood on the side of the stage during “Springsteen.” He soaked in the entire thing and when it was over, he looked around and simply said, “Oh my God.” You can’t fool the pros. It was that good.

                  

Church gave the Kansas City crowd “Where I Wanna Be” for the first time on this tour. “First and only,” Church said. “This is a Kansas City original.” He played “Hippie Radio” for just the fifth time in the last three years. He played a version of “Never Break Heart” that turned into “Kansas City.”

                  

And in one of the surest Eric Church indicators that he’s had a great night, he played “Old Friends, Old Whiskey, Old Songs,” a song that he only breaks out on very special evenings. He doesn’t just give that song away. Crowds have to earn it, and this one did. This one was still clapping in rhythm to “Drowning Man” well after 11:30 p.m.

                  

“Chieeeeeeeeeffffff!”

                  

Everything worked out exactly as Church had expected. At the beginning of the show, he gave them a challenge. “This is the show I’ve had circled the longest,” he told them. “And I’ll be shocked if you don’t exceed my expectations.”

                  

By the end, he had played 30 songs and nearly three hours. He had given away his drink cup and signed autographs and walked through the crowd. What is it he says in “Carolina”?

                  

“I’ve got to play the star in some little town again tonight.”

                  

He didn’t just play the star on Friday. He was the star everyone had come to see, at the same time the T-Mobile Center crowd was the crowd everyone on stage wanted. They were loud and they sang and they danced and they simply had fun from the time the building’s doors opened.

                  

“I would play the rest of the shows on this tour here,” Church said.

                  

“Chieeeeeeeeeeeeffff!”