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Eric Church doubles down at Target Center
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Country superstar saved his best for second half.
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By Jon Bream
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FEBRUARY 8, 2019
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It's called the Double Down Tour. Because country superstar Eric Church is playing two consecutive weekend nights in 19 cities, promising different set lists on Friday and Saturday.
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On Friday at Target Center, "Double Down" could have had two different meanings — the temperature being double digits down below zero and Church doubling the sellout crowd's pleasure in the second set.
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The first set could best be described by the title of another Church song, "Hippie Radio." He introduced that number from his sixth and current album, "Desperate Man," by reminiscing about riding around in his dad's beige Pontiac, listening to Kansas, Billy Idol and LaBelle.
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In fact, "hippie radio" also was an apt description for the highlight of the 70-minute, 14-song opening set — a solo acoustic guitar version of Church's mission statement, "Mistress Named Music," framed around a medley of old favorites by Hall & Oates, Carole King, Bob Seger, Travis Tritt, Bob Dylan (a perfectly pinched nasally "Blowin' in the Wind") and Prince (a creditable falsetto reading of "Kiss").
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