Miranda Lambert In Concert

            As I mentioned in my first blog post, Miranda Lambert is special and unlike most current country artists. Unlike most, Lambert does not just sport the country “badass” or that of the southern belle person. Rather, she embraces both. “Far more than peers like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, she's invested in the full range of human feeling: ecstasy, grief, confusion, even those weird hybrid emotions for which only the Germans have names.” (Wood) While her apparel consistently screams rebel, her attitude in each performance varies to sway her look. HitFix critic Melinda Newman points out, “27-year old Lambert’s twang can sound boastful, regretful and torn all in the same song.” (Newman). Miranda Lambert will sing “Gunpowder & Lead” and be riot rising, then perform “Over You” and bring tears to your eyes. Aided by her choice to use larger venue concert halls, she changes the mood of each performance by altering the level of her intimacy. Her shows can be both personal and disconnected.

            Take, for example, the video above of Miranda Lambert performing “Gunpowder & Lead” in Nashville, Tennessee. Dressed in all black, hair frizzed, and sporting a distinct gung-ho attitude, Lambert is an obvious country “badass”. As she jumps up and down, fist in the air Miranda Lambert sings her lyrics enthusiastically:

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun

Wait by the door and light a cigarette

If he wants a fight well now he's got one

And he ain't seen me crazy yet

He slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll

Don't that sound like a real man

I'm going to show him what a little girls are made of

Gunpowder and lead (Miranda Lambert Lyrics: 'Gunpowder & Lead’)

Finally, for her character to be complete, Lambert makes the choice of removing most, if not all, intimacy from her performance. Now, Miranda Lambert is able to portray the strong, rebellious woman her song claims she is.

This country “badass” Miranda Lambert frequently plays is part of what makes her so attractive to her audience, particularly those of the female gender. She is that girl making a stand against every woman’s heartbreak and wrongdoing. She’s not afraid to stick her middle finger high in the air to everyone that has hurt or left her behind. Doing so, Miranda Lambert is both relatable and desirable. She is, if not who you already are, who wish you could to be.

Yet, Miranda Lambert still holds the ability to drop the attitude when appropriate, making Lambert so unique. She holds the capability to play every side of a woman. While she is enraging, she is also sensitive. This change is seen in the video posted above of Miranda Lambert’s live performance of “Over You” in Orlando, Florida. “Over You” was written by both Miranda Lambert and her husband, Blake Shelton. The song explores the passing of Blake Shelton’s brother in a car accident. Clearly a more emotional song, Lambert is forced to tone down both her musical approach and attitude. Though still dressed in a darker, defiant wardrobe, Miranda Lambert is far more intimate during this performance than during that of “Gunpowder & Lead”. Lambert first introduces the song with a moving story of how it was written, it’s current relevance to her life, and how everyone can relate to it. With the aid of this introduction, the moment Lambert begins to sing, “Over You” is heartrending. Opposed to “Gunpowder & Lead”, her movement is few. Apart from walking from one side of the stage to the other, Miranda Lambert’s only actions are those of agony. This is the other side of Lambert that is so appealing to country fans; this her, this is real. While Miranda Lambert may curse, scream, and jump up and down, she still strips down a vulnerable woman, making her performance persona all the more attractive. This vulnerable Lambert gives reason to the rebellious woman. Displaying her pain, she shows how she has basis for sorrow and anger. Essentially, she validates the performance character she has made, showing that the gung-ho, rebellious, and heartbroken woman you paid to see is, in fact, a real person.

There is a reason why Miranda Lambert tickets are priced so highly. Ranging from seventy to two hundred dollars, when you pay for a ticket to a Miranda Lambert concert, you are paying to see a real person. Lambert shows every side of herself when she performs, which seems to be rapidly becoming rarer these days. Though, naturally, Lambert’s feminism and vulnerability is more attractive to women, everybody can admire her fearlessness. Miranda Lambert is one of the most relatable artists of country music today.

Works Cited 

 Miranda Lambert. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mirandalambert.com/>.

Miranda Lambert - Gunpowder & Lead (Live). YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajoI8X8Ys94>.

“Miranda Lambert Lyrics: ‘Gunpowder & Lead.’” A-Z Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mirandalambert/overyou.html>.

“Miranda Lambert Tickets.” StubHub. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.stubhub.com/miranda-lambert-tickets/>.

Over You Miranda Lambert Live Orlando, Florida UCF Arena. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_c35jZZu8I>.

Wood, Mikael, and Melinda Newman. “Miranda Lambert’s ‘Four the Record’: What the Critics Are Saying.” The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miranda-lamberts-four-record-critics-255702>.