Zac Brown Band to stay on point in Sphere show

Zac Brown Band came in a little hot this weekend at Sphere. But it’s not as if we weren’t warned.

Brown touched off some blowback from Friday’s skeletal, fiery opening to the “Love & Fear” production. Social media posters made such comments as “Why is there a satanic vibe? Being woke will destroy your career. Enjoy the ride to the end of what you had. Bye bye.” And, “Why does it look so demonic? I remember when you had a simpler message. What happened???” And also, “Miss chicken fried Zac- this crap is demonic.”

That’s after seeing just a snippet of video from this show. But don’t expect the band to change its message because of such caterwauling on the socials. A rep Monday confirmed that the creative themes and narrative structure will remain as intended. Otherwise, the band isn’t fanning the flames, as it were.

The number in question was at the top of the production. A little boy representing Brown wakes up, clicks a boom box next to his bed to play “Good Bye Blue Sky” by Pink Floyd. The scene swiftly shifts to the young man moving through a forest and an entanglement of tree branches, reaching a door that bursts into flames.

At that point, the band blazes into “Heavy Is The Head,” a rough-rocking cut from 2015’s “Jekyll + Hyde,” in which the late Chris Cornell plays lead. As explained in the original account of opening night, a Gothic, skeletal figure dominates the video presentation and throws a charge into the opening segment. Brown arrives wearing a crown of horns, the whole scene bathed in crimson.

It’s a jarring start, and not just because the haptic seats are activated for extra shake-and-bake. But importantly, the scene is set up by Brown’s voice-over starting the show. He tells the crowd, “From darkness to light. From pain to joy. I realized I could create something that connected my journey to others … I stand up here and look into your faces. I see myself in your eyes. We’re all sharing in this human experience. Life is hard, but we’re gonna be OK.”

Brown continues, “I believe we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. But time stops for none of us, so no more darkness. Bob Marley said, ‘From the darkness there must come out a light.’ No destinations, no regrets, no more fear. It’s f—- yes, or it’s no. It’s the only remedy, so let’s go.”

Buckle up, in other words, for this nightlong adaptation of how to use love to fend off fear. As Brown’s fans know, or should, the 47-year-old recording star touches on a myriad of genres and performance styles. Hard rock is among them.

On Saturday, the day after posting a video of that particular segment, I spoke about the show with the great rock journalist Eddie Trunk, who asked about the fiery video he’d observed. I said it reminded me of an Iron Maiden show. He remarked that Maiden’s front man, Bruce Dickinson, told him in August the band had no interest in playing Sphere.

So it’s up to Zac Brown to carry the Maiden message, I suppose, to build a greater storytelling arc.

Pulling that scene from the show and commenting without context is ignoring what Brown has achieved. He has created a show that traces an emotional journey. Fear is part of that voyage, as is love (why his latest album is titled as such).

Brown’s hand-to-hand battle with UFC/WWE star Brock Lesnar in “Animal,” from the new album, played out enormously on video, is tempered by a warm rendition of “My Old Man” The song is quiet, embellished thoughtfully by simple, nostalgic items from Brown’s youth flooding the screens. That number was my favorite of the night.

During the show I had recalled another skeleton, the Harley-riding figure in Dead & Company’s Sphere shows. The scene plays to the Grateful Dead classic “Hell In a Bucket,” with the legendary lyric, “I may be goin’ to hell in a bucket, babe. But at least I’m enjoyin’ the ride.”

The biker anthem is almost 40 years old. Certainly not everyone agrees with the sentiment. But that’s the thing about great art. Even as a skeleton, it survives.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.