HELOTES – Pat Green recently expressed his admiration for the legendary Willie Nelson, declaring that Willie could satisfy any live audience with “a two-hour show of all hits.”

It either didn’t occur to Green at the time, or perhaps he was simply being modest, but he is more than capable of putting on a two-hour, hit-saturated show, just as Willie does.

Green proved as much on Friday night at Floore’s Country Store.

With his six-piece band, a cool breeze in the air and an almost full moon in the night sky, Green electrified the jam-packed crowd with a 126-minute set that featured hit after hit.

After kicking off the show with a pair of Texas country staples – “Carry On” and “Texas On My Mind” – Green segued into more current hits like “Feels Just Like It Should,” the lead single from his latest album, Cannonball.

For the next two-plus hours, Green danced back and forth between the old – “Three Days,” “Crazy” and “Take Me Out To a Dancehall” – and the new – “Cannonball” and “Way Back Texas.”

The country-flavored crowd at Floore’s seemed happy on both accounts, singing along to just about every one of the 21 songs Green and his backing band played.

Of course, the San Antonio-born Green saved his best for last.

After re-emerging from the backstage area for the inevitable encore performance, Green – his band nowhere to be seen – played an acoustic version of his Texas country classic, “Songs About Texas.”

From there, Green’s band rejoined him and kicked into three of more prominent tunes – “Dixie Lullaby,” “Southbound 35” and “Wave on Wave,” the latter of which helped transition Green from Texas legend to national mainstream commodity.

Green’s performance of “Wave on Wave” wasn’t without its surprises, as he broke off into the chorus from U2’s “With Or Without You” near the song’s conclusion.

Not that Green needed to play anyone else’s hits on Friday night.

As evidenced by his set at Floore’s, he has plenty of his own.

CLINT HALE | 210SA