Playing her first concert since the death of her father, country superstar Trisha Yearwood used humor and music as catharsis, thrilling a packed house at the brand new Mesa Arts Center's 1,600-seat Ikeda Theatre. "It's been a rough week for me," Yearwood told the crowd. "I've never tried imagining an audience nude before, but it works!"

Dressed in blue jeans, cowboy boots, a black T-shirt and a black sequined jacket, Yearwood opened the show with perhaps her best-known song, the 1991 No. 1 smash "She's in Love With the Boy," her powerful vocals booming in the acoustically sound venue.

Playing a mixture of older songs and tunes from her terrific new album, "Jasper County," Yearwood tried to keep the mood light despite her father's passing, saying "I'm a little spacey tonight, so if you hear lyrics you've never heard before, bear with me — I'm making them up."

A consummate pro, Yearwood flubbed nary a note on standouts such as her new single "Georgia Rain," "Xxx's and Ooo's (An American Girl)" and "How Do I Live," a tearjerker that, under the circumstances, must have been tough for the singer to get through.

"I've been saying for 15 years that music is a healer," Yearwood said at the end of the hour-and-a-half show. "Tonight, it's my turn to be healed. I've had a wonderful time tonight, and I thank you."
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TRISHA YEARWOOD'S SET LIST

1. "She's in Love With The Boy"

2. "Xxx's and Ooo's (American Girl)"

3. "The Song Remembers When"

4. "Thinkin' About You"

5. "Who Invented the Wheel"

6. "Georgia Rain"

7. "Like We Never Had a Broken Heart"

8. "Gimme the Good Stuff"

9. "Down on My Knees"

10. "Perfect Love"

11. "Walkaway Joe:

12. "Pistol"

13. "Wrong Side of Memphis"

14. "How Do I Live"

Encore: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"