The last time Tim McGraw toured, he did so with his wife, Faith Hill, as part of a superstar country package.

That show, which came to HSBC Arena in 2007, as part of the “Soul2Soul” tour, was a high-tech, Vegas-style affair. On his current tour, McGraw has abandoned Faith, so to speak, and headed out on his own.

The result? A show that rocked harder, for whatever reason.

Maybe it’s because McGraw and his 10-piece band — known to all as the Dancehall Doctors — felt free to indulge in testosterone. That is, after all, what McGraw is all about.

Kicking off the Darien Lake concert season, McGraw brought it — and hard — to what looked like a capacity crowd, or close to it. Right off the bat, McGraw established the rules of engagement — this would be a rock show, a country gig in name only.

That should’ve surprised no one who has been following McGraw for more than a few weeks. He always HAS been more Journey than Hank Williams, and even if he flashed Hank’s face — and those of Chuck Berry, Martin Luther King Jr. and William Faulkner — during the brand-new “Southern Voice,” this was never really going to be a country show.

With Faith safe at home, McGraw chose to play rock, occasionally reveling in the three-guitar, harmonized glory of Molly Hatchet and the Outlaws, much to the rowdy crowd’s delight.

I can hear y’all writing in already, to tell me this gig was what country’s actually all about. No one’s trying to tell you different. But if you think back on it, and you ponder your own role in it all, you’ll probably agree — this was rock, not country, southern accents notwithstanding.

McGraw and his band, a killer ensemble capable of doing far more than its leader asked of it, did challenge the crowd a bit with the inclusion of some five or so brand-new songs, from the record the singer is preparing for a fall release.

These were all pure southern rock, and the best of them, “Southern Voice,” sounded not a bit unlike the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See.”

You realize, of course, that this is not an insult. The only way to send a stark criticism McGraw and his band’s way is to point out that no one ever improvised. Sure, everybody got their solo spot, but within it, they played the same part they played, and will play, every night on this tour. That’s lame. And I’m sure the musicians in the band would agree — why not take it outside for once?

McGraw — who is not a remarkable singer, but uses his voice to good effect, and always sings in tune — gave the people what they wanted, when he wasn’t indulging in new material.

Of course, we got “Cowboy in Me,” a weak apologist’s argument for being a lame husband if I ever heard one, and “Amarillo Sky.”

“Laughed Until We Cried” and “Hicktown” treaded the high wire between straight pop and modern country, while a cover of David Allan Coe’s “The Ride” afforded the seemingly completely necessary opportunity for every single singer operating under the country banner to make it clear that they praise U. S. troops engaged in current foreign-policy initiatives.

Not to be a jerk, but — does anyone, country music fan or not, fail to support American troops engaged overseas? C’mon, guys. Stop using this as some sort of “code of honor” between country music stars. If you’re so into it, sign up to fight.

McGraw never overdid it in this area, however. He was far more interested in singing his songs for the adoring throngs. And that he did, quite well.