It's hard to have a bad show when you start out with a classic Johnny Cash song. At least that proved true for the Brooks & Dunn show Thursday night at the Show Me Center.

The night's first performer, Josh Turner, opened with "Folsom Prison Blues" and though it's hard, if not impossible, to follow that, the rest of Turner's short set was a crowd pleaser.

"What it Ain't," a single that will be released next week, was a rollicking, energetic song with a sense of humor.

Turner's deep, resonant voice belies his youthful appearance and unassuming demeanor. Although he is not a big presence on stage, he has his share of charisma and a good deal of charm. His great smile couldn't hurt with the female part of the audience either.

Turner was followed by a fellow young country singer with a killer voice and smile, Joe Nichols.

Right away Nichols got things off to a great start with "Everything's A Thing" off his album "Man With A Memory."

Nichols' expert covers also blended well with his original material, which is saying a lot when you're talking about songs by Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr. and Waylon Jennings.

One listen to a song like "Brokenheartsville," though, and it seems that Nichols may have the talent to follow in these legends' footsteps.

"If you can't tell already, I grew up on traditional country music," he told the crowd.

Nichols really got the audience into his performance and had them on their feet more than once, including an attempt at a sing-a-long to The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman."

He even sat on the stage briefly and had several teenagers from the audience sing along to David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Call Me By My Name."

Nichols has been getting quite a bit of acclaim of late, even being nominated for a Grammy this year and judging by his performance in Cape Girardeau, he deserves all of it.

Part of what made Nichols so appealing on stage is that he seemed accessible, like he wanted to be up on that stage and entertaining the people who came to the show.

The Brooks & Dunn performance was a non-stop ride of great music combined with the duo's on-stage antics.

Kix Brooks in particular has a great time with the audience. At one point he invited a little girl onto the stage and talked with her a little while before giving her a drum stick and a guitar pick.

Right after that he had a short discussion with an audience member's sister on her cell phone.

The duo performed songs ranging from "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" to "Neon Moon" with a great deal of enthusiasm.

After watching one of their shows, it becomes apparent why Brooks & Dunn have managed to stay so popular for as long as they have.

It remains to be seen if the show's opening acts will have as successful a career, but their performances tonight showed great promise, and Brooks & Dunn's performance showed that it is always nice to have the pros come out and show you how it's done properly.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182