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By the end of his current Holdin’ My Own tour Eric Church is going to be awfully tired of the Springsteen comparisons.

The country singer brought it all on himself, however, first by co-writing a number one single named after the Boss, and lately by turning his concerts into lengthy marathons that would impress his musical hero. With no opening act to dilute the buzz, Church has opted for three hours (with intermission) delving into his back catalog, as well as a large helping of songs from his last album, 2015’s Mr. Misunderstood. Seeing that Northlands was packed to the rafters with rowdy fans on a frigid Friday evening it seems to have been a good call on the part of the Nashville native.

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He’s also going with little in the way of a stage show, delivering a straightforward musical presentation that put the emphasis on songs and musicianship over fireworks and lasers, or in Church’s case the giant, inflatable devil he was carting around for awhile there. He made the point by simply walking out onstage with an acoustic guitar to open with the relatively subdued Mistress Named Music, strumming solo and working up to band and full choir backing, with students from Sturgeon Composite High School taking up the refrain at the end. From there it was a long night of rockers, mid tempo ballads and drinking songs, all played by an unusually flexible and versatile band.