VINCE GILL'S LAID-BACK STYLE DELIGHTS CROWD

Established country superstar Vince Gill teamed with up-and-comer Jo Dee Messina to greatly satisfy the 5,148 people who attended their concert at the Show Me Center Friday night.

Messina, recently honored with the Country Music Association Horizon Award, which notes her as the hottest new talent on the block, gave a feisty opening act performance that contrasted nicely with Gill's less energized but perhaps more focused show.

Backed by a six-piece band, Messina, slightly plump and definitely red-haired, launched into the raucous "Heads Carolina, Tails California" as she skipped and strutted the length of the stage.

Poured into tight black pants and a light blue tank top, she delivered 40 minutes of bold, strong singing, although her throaty vocals were sometimes overshadowed by too much bass pounding from massive speakers.

At one point she asked the audience, "How many of you have ever been dumped?" When her question was answered by thousands of females screaming "I have! I have!" she gave them "Lesson in Leavin'," her current top 10 hit.

Born in a small town in Massachusetts, which she jokingly told the audience was the home of country music, Messina spoke of the difficulty of making it in the music business, before hurling into the fast-paced "It's Hip to be Square."

She followed that with the somewhat plaintive, "I Want a Man to Stand Beside Me," and the jaunty "I'm Alright."

Somewhat of a surprise was her rendition of a Gloria Estefan hit of several years ago. Injecting Latin rhythms and sounds into her show could have been intrusive, but it seemed acceptable.

Messina closed with "Bye Bye," a hit record known for its infectious energy, and Messina delivered it running in fifth gear. More than half the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Like Messina, this was Gill's first appearance at the Show Me Center. He was in Robinson, Miss., the night before, and in Little Rock yesterday.

A former member of Pure Prairie League, Gill's string of hits as a solo performer began in 1990. He has more Country Music Association awards than anyone else in the industry.

Wearing baggy blue pants and a long-sleeve flannel shirt over a T-shirt, Gill opened with the up tempo "One More Last Chance," -- an extended rendition with fiddle and guitar solos by members of his eight-person band.

"Just a Little More Love," brought squeals of delight from the crowd, whose ratio was two-to-one female.

Gill bantered with the crowd, welcoming them to the "hillbilly extravaganza." Throughout the nearly two-hour show, Gill would play about a dozen different guitars.

His vocals were crisp and clear as he delivered hit after hit in a loose, relaxed manner.

The bluegrass "High Lonesome Sound" bridged nicely into the slow tempo "Pretty Little Adriana," which was followed by "Whenever You Come Around." By this time many females in the audience were singing along.

After jibing The Dixie Chicks for "selling 70 zillion records with a banjo in the band," Gill brandished a banjo for an Earl Scruggs song that few in the audience seemed to know. But it didn't seem to matter.

"When I Call Your Name," the 1990 hit that Gill said kept him from having to "work as a caddy for a living," was enthusiastically received, as was the rocket-paced "Oklahoma Borderline."

Gill performed "My Kind of Woman/My Kind of Man," a big hit off his current album, "The Key." Standing in for his duet partner on the record, Patty Loveless, was the lone female member of his band.

Well into the show, Gill acknowledged he has more female fans than male. He joked that guys come to his shows for two reasons: "They are told they better come, or they come because they think they might get lucky when they get home."

He then played a song he said might help the guys get lucky tonight, "If You Ever Have Forever in Mind."

After several ballads that showed the strength of his tenor, Gill wrapped up his pre-encore set with the 1992 hit, "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," a somewhat mournful plea that highlighted Gill's emotional depth. Hordes of females made pilgrimage toward the stage to take photos.

Responding to a foot-stomping demand for an encore, Gill returned for the lickety-split "What the Cowgirls Do," the plaintive "I Still Believe in You" and the clamorous "Liza Jane," which had the audience -- the females anyway -- standing and clapping their hands in the air.