Dierks Bentley has them dancing in the aisles at fair

It’s easy to forget just how many hits Dierks Bentley has had over the years.

His self-titled debut album came out in 2003. Since then he has had 13 No.1 hits.

Bentley’s concert felt like traveling back in time over the past dozen years. He opened the show with “Sideways,” one of his top songs from 2009, and closed with one of his most recent No. 1 songs, “Drunk on a Plane.”

In between, he spent an hour and a half signing old and new favorites that had most of the crowd on its feet, with many dancing in the aisles and standing area. Between songs, Bentley interacted with the crowd, shaking hands and even taking a beer from a front-row audience member.

As proof that even some of his oldest hits are still memorable, Bentley often left it to the crowd to sing the chorus. They had no problem remembering the words.

Bentley told the audience that he stopped by the Sip-N-Dip earlier in the day. However, he was there too early to see the mermaids.

“We got into town and we went straight over to the Sip-N-Dip,” he said. “We were just hanging out watching the (empty) pool.”

A waitress at the iconic bar said the singer also bought a few T-shirts.

Bentley took numerous occasions to praise Montana. He told the crowd that when he comes here he always schedules a day off before or after the show to enjoy the state.

“It’s just the best,” Bentley said of Montana.

Whether he was playing to the crowd or being genuine was hard to tell.

Bentley did talk about a friend he called Montana Mike, who lives in Helena and helped Bentley write one of his first songs and finance his first album before he was signed to a label.

“I’ve got a lot of friends here,” he said, “powerful friends.”

Those powerful friends he was referring to were Malmstrom Air Force Base’s missile squadrons. In the middle of the show, he showed off a flag given to him by a squadron.

“We’ll be taking that with us on the road,” Bentley said.

Bentley’s first time playing in Montana was in 2003 in Butte. He’s been to the state numerous times since, including a show at the State Fair in 2007.

A highlight of the Wednesday night’s concert was when the singer hopped of the stage and worked his way through the crowd as he sang “Come A Little Closer.”

“I gotta come see my people in the back,” he said.

Audience members swarmed him, and Bentley responded with handshakes, high fives and even taking a few cellphones to snap selfies.

Bentley’s set at the Four Seasons Arena seemed simple at first glance — a set of stairs and little else. However, a portion of the stage would rise up and down throughout the concert, and pyrotechnics and smoke sometimes blasted from the stage.

Before singing “I Hold On,” a song from his most recent album, “Riser,” in which he sings about his attachment to his old guitar and his truck, Bentley explained the song to the crowd.

“I’m still playing the same guitar I was playing in 2005,” he said. “Thanks to you guys, I could have bought a new guitar a long time ago.”

He also could have bought a new truck, but prefers his old Chevy that has 200,000 miles on it.

“It’s just an old beat-up truck, some say that I should trade up,” he sang. “What they don’t know is my dad and me, we drove her out to Tennessee. And she’s still here and now he’s gone. So I hold on.”

Bentley grew up in Arizona, and that drive with his dad to Nashville was life altering for the now-star.

After finishing the show with his most recent hit “Say You Do,” Bentley returned for an encore singing his first No. 1 song “What Was I Thinking,” and then “Drunk on a Plane.”

Bentley added what appeared to be an unplanned extra chorus to the last song, and was still singing when the house lights came on. He stayed on the stage for a few minutes as the crowd filed out to shake hands and sign autographs.