Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Gary LeVox, with Rascal Flatts, performs Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.

Rascal Flatts, in one major respect, is the contemporary country equivalent of Nickelback. Masses love the act, buying its discs by the millions and filling concert halls to see it live. Others despise it, spewing something near pure hate.

On Friday night at Roanoke Civic Center, Rascal Flatts lovers were the clear majority, with 6,985 packing the coliseum.

The Nashville, Tenn., hit machine did not hurt its cause by bringing along opening acts Sara Evans and Hunter Hayes. Evans, after a nasty divorce sparked her to take a long spell away from recording, is back in the country charts with her latest album, "Stronger."Hayes, who shows potential to be Music City's newest guitar hero, has a set of pipes to match his dexterity on six strings.

But it was Rascal Flatts' crowd. The core trio — lead singer Gary LeVox, bassist/pianist/singer Jay DeMarcus and guitarist/singer Joe Don Rooney — is 11 years into the business, coming off the chart-topping success of its latest record, "Nothing Like This,"and preparing a new album for April release. Folks in the civic center were nuts for it, staying on their feet, dancing and singing along.

The Rascals brought the corporate rock thunder from the top of the show, emerging from doors that popped out of a wide screen projecting a set of looming icebergs. They walked down steps toward three racks packed with white drums — one bass drum, turned upward, and two tom-toms per rack.

LeVox, DeMarcus and Rooney began to work their kits, building up to a tribal pounding that sent the full group into "Why Wait," each leaving the drums for their instruments or microphone.

LeVox was the man with the microphone. And he showed guts, dressed in a sparkling rock 'n' roll T-shirt that hung over a pair of black pants that also sparkled from the knee down to the boots. Combined with his spiky hair, he looked like some sort of Printers Alley Liberace.

Then he began to sing. Yes, his voice is way pinched and nasally yet it's a crystal-clear and explosive alto, supple and accurate enough for all the gymnastics that LeVox put it through. And on the band's bluegrassy "Lonesome Road," it came across just about perfectly.

Bluegrass and country sounds were overshadowed by the act's pop-rock leanings. From the party-rocking "Me and My Gang" to the fiddle-flecked "Summer Nights" to the power ballad "Bless The Broken Road,"it was the modern Nashville sound that Rascal Flatts has done much to popularize.

Rooney cut loose for a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "The House Is Rockin.'" DeMarcus got the spotlight for a faithful version of Billy Joel's "Piano Man."The backing band was a powerhouse, showing substantial chops during a boogie-fusion instrumental.

Rascal Flatts' latest hit, "Easy,"is a collaboration with pop singer Natasha Bedingfield. There would be no Bedingfield tonight, which brought up the annoying prospect that LeVox would duet with a canned Bedingfield track while her face lit up the big screen behind the band.

Rascal Flatts had a better idea, calling Evans to the stage. She nailed her parts, her Missouri twang a fitting complement.

The band played its new single, "Banjo,"from the upcoming disc. The cut did include a fair helping of its instrumental namesake and got a strong audience response.

The trio closed its encore with another big stage moment, bringing up a group of nine Marines in dress blues during "He Ain't The Leavin' Kind," drawing huge cheers as LeVox shoehorned in a chorus of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'"

Evans soars with height

Evans' set showed her fully engaged in the comeback that started with the recent hit single, "A Little Bit Stronger" (written by Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott), and continues with her cover of Rod Stewart's "My Heart Can't Tell You No."She and her six-piece backing band — including her brother, bassist Matt Evans — played older hits, including the coliseum sing-along "Born To Fly" and "I Could Not Ask For More."

She balanced those poppier tunes with the countrified "Suds in the Bucket" and "Coalmine." Her honey-on-steel voice, sweet with a touch of pain, sold it all.

The tall, lanky Evans moved gracefully in unnaturally high, stick-thin heels. Obviously, her short time on "Dancing With the Stars"must have come in handy there.

Hayes shows promise

Show opener Hayes might be the first young Nashville guitar hotshot to display a clear John Mayer influence. The 20-year-old with the mug of a 12-year-old had a bit of Keith Urban in his playing style, too, but he further solidified the Mayer connection with his song "Somebody's Heartbreak,"which included a lengthy and very Mayer-like guitar lead with shades of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton.

His vocal phrasing, though, came closer to those of LeVox, though considerably less pinched. His guitar solos and his country-soul vocals made women scream. They weren't screaming like it was Justin Bieber up there, but many were screaming insistently enough to suggest that Hayes has a good shot at sticking around for a while.