POP MUSIC REVIEWS : ‘Mr. Achy Breaky’ Basks in the Moment

Billy Ray Cyrus’ best performance at the Universal Amphitheatre on Friday might have been what he did following his concert.

After concluding the show with a surprisingly spirited version of “Wild Thing,” Mr. Achy Breaky stayed on stage a good 10 or 15 minutes, shaking hands with fans, posing for snapshots and dancing around to a tape playing the likes of Rod Stewart’s “Hot Legs.” Apparently this guy understands that for all his gazillion records sold, he’s still just one fluke hit removed from the Kentucky bar circuit--and he’s going to have a blast for as long as it lasts.

The best moments of the concert itself did in fact resemble a scaled-up bar-band gig, with songs ranging from the Tom T. Hall-like post-divorce whimsy of “Where’m I Gonna Live?” to a Muscle Shoals-ish, funked-up “Amazing Grace,” and not a scrap of originality or vision to spoil the fun. If only he had the guts to do Weird Al’s new “Achy Breaky Heart” spoof instead of the real thing.

But there were some scary moments when Cyrus looked as if he thought he was Elvis or something. Here’s the deal: Cyrus is a modestly talented, somewhat personable performer who got lucky. If he’s content to play, say, Bryan Adams to Garth Brooks’ Bruce Springsteen, he’ll do just fine. When he tries for more it’s not a pretty sight.