COUNTRY MUSIC REVIEW : Steve Wariner Captures Crowd With Down-Home Style

One of the most taken-for-granted performers on the road today, Steve Wariner, may be country music’s best-kept secret. A stylish singer and a red-hot guitarist, the affable, down-home Hoosier sure showed the crowd a good time during the first of his two shows at the Crazy Horse in Santa Ana on Monday night.

It’s hard to say just what Wariner’s strongest suit is. Singing, he knows how to open up and touch the notes with emotion, peeling away the obvious and finding honesty behind even such purely commercial ballads as “Some Fools Never Learn.” With his crackerjack band adding muscle to even the frothiest radio-ready numbers, his vocals illuminated several new shades of heartache.

As a guitarist, Wariner (a protege of Chet Atkins) can twist a blues riff, as he did during “You Can Dream of Me,” or swirl a circular pattern till it rollicks, as he did during “Life’s Highway.”

Other highlights included “Heart Trouble,” with Wariner’s guitar slashing against a boogie-woogie piano foundation, and the brand new “I Could Get Lucky Tonight,” a moody ballad that featured his broken-hearted-boy vocal pushed way out front.

The McCarters, who opened the show, well may be one of the brightest lights on the country horizon. Informed by a strong sense of Appalachia, the trio drew on material that ranged from straight-ahead country to gospel to almost-bluegrass, and the audience seemed enchanted.

Eldest sister/lead singer Jennifer McCarter, 23, has a blood-and-sweaty voice that captures all sorts of nuances: Her delivery speaks volumes about heartbreak and other things that only a heart understands. In an industry full of people trying to manufacture emotional integrity, she’s as refreshing as she is outstanding.

Still, the McCarters understand that harmonies are their strong suit and do everything possible to accentuate them--an approach that extends to their interplay with their strong-yet-subtle band: Clinton Gregory’s weeping fiddle parts during “Lovin’ You” and “The Gift” seemed designed as more than mere solos, often providing contrast to Jennifer McCarter’s vocal work.

Perhaps because they’re such a new act, the McCarters didn’t always look entirely comfortable on stage. Twins Lisa and Teresa barely moved during the set, even when the band swung into a fairly raucous “Rocky Top.” Every indication, though, is that this group will blossom nicely.