Tim McGraw's living like he's dying to be the biggest pop singer wearing a cowboy hat.

Who can argue? His album "Live Like You Were Dying" is No. 1 on both the pop and country charts, the title cut was the biggest hit on country radio this summer and his 63-city tour is selling out faster than a Yankees-Red Sox series, including Saturday night's capacity crowd of 8,616 at the Roanoke Civic Center.

Of course, that success has as much to do with style as with singing and McGraw surely knows this. As he told the crowd Saturday, "I'll keep doing this as long as I can fit in these jeans."

But that doesn't mean his best work is behind him. Backed by his underrated, eight-piece band, the Dancehall Doctors, McGraw reeled off one hit after another from his 10-year career, while mixing in a mess of new material that will surely make its way onto a future greatest hits package.

His show was long on songs and short on the kind of video-driven flash and splash like we saw when Kenny Chesney, McGraw's running buddy, invaded Roanoke a couple of months ago. McGraw displayed an easygoing manner in a no-frills show, despite the multiple video screens.

After opening with "How Bad Do You Want It," the first song on his new album, McGraw quickly and smartly shifted to familiar material that included "Red Rag Top," "She's My Kind of Rain," "Where the Green Grass Grows" and "I Like It, I Love It."

When things slowed down during one of those tender moments that are staples of most country shows, he sang his first No.1 hit, "Don't Take the Girl," your basic boy-hates-girls, boy-saves-girl-from-mugging, boy-loses-girl-during-childbirth, boy-takes-son-fishing epic.

He made the effort to get close and personal with the audience, hauling about 30 fans onstage to sit, listen and swoon to a few songs. Moments later, the roadies unceremoniously rousted them off the stage, perhaps to an undisclosed location or holding pen.

McGraw paid tribute to a relative in Iraq with a video montage, then invited two brothers from Franklin County's Clark family to join him on stage. McGraw helped the Clarks get a record deal with Curb, then could only watch as the business end of Nashville sent the boys into bankruptcy. It's good to see they're all still speaking.

McGraw finished up with the still-ludicrous-after-all-these-years "Indian Outlaw" and a new single, "Back When," that shows even a 37-year-old country superstar can wax nostalgic.

After a brief opening set by the Warren Brothers, zany newcomers Big & Rich put on a crazed, over-the-top show, starting with the first song that demanded to know "Why does everybody want to kick my a--?" and ending with the advice to "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." They were the best whacked-out, honky-tonk, heavy-metal band to take the stage Saturday, and the most fun.