By KRISTINA DORSEY

Day Arts Editor

After Miranda Lambert ripped through a bring-the-house-down version of "Gunpowder and Lead" Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena, a familiar phrase flashed on the video screen: "Well-behaved women rarely make history."

You wouldn't expect any less of a sentiment from Lambert.

In a country-music industry that seems to promote nice, pleasant (some might say under-exciting) female singers, Lambert is a fiery anomaly. She's got a country singer's heart, a rocker's edge and a rebel's gutsiness. Heck, if Lambert were in pop music, she'd be Pink.

In concert Saturday, Lambert was a spitfire, stomping and dancing and having a helluva time. She also boasted a wonderfully flexible voice that was even more potent live than it is on record. Even her singing has personality.

Saturday's Mohegan Sun gig was the last stop on Lambert's "Certified Platinum" tour, and it caught her in the middle of a great career run. Her 2014 CD "Platinum" went gold and earned the best-country-album Grammy. She's been piling up all sorts of other awards, too, including four at November's Country Music Association ceremony.

She's up for yet more honors at April 19's Academy of Country Music Awards, including the biggest category of the night — entertainer of the year.

Based on her performance at Mohegan Sun, she's certainly worthy of that title. Lambert showed real smarts when assembling and arranging her set list; the concert flowed smoothly through the singer's catalog.

Most of Lambert's songs are, in some way, about strength and empowerment. Introducing "All Kinds of Kinds," she urged her fans to "think about who you are, where you come from and what you stand for."

Of course, her singles often spark with a sense of humor, too, which played well in concert. The refrain of "Platinum" — "What doesn't kill you/only makes you blonder" — remained an amusing sing-along line.

Lambert tackled some covers, which produced a highlight with a guest artist on Saturday: Leslie West, from the group Mountain, wheeled onstage in his motorized wheelchair and proceeded to play guitar and sing a bit of "Mississippi Queen" along with Lambert. Both West and Lambert fired the number up with a rock 'n' roll fervor and worked together seamlessly.

Lambert — who wore a sleeveless white T emblazoned with the phrase "Nuthin' Fancy," black short-shorts, fishnets and boots — was in rowdy spirit, too, when she took on ZZ Top's "Tush" and gave the ol' warhorse new life.

A quibble with the set list: While the ballad "Smokin' and Drinkin'" showcased some lovely harmonies, it's not a strong enough song to include live alongside such other robust material. Why not, instead of pulling that tune from "Platinum," sub in, say, "Hard Staying Sober" or "Gravity Is A Bitch"?

While the production was, for the most part, estimable (even including disco balls that turned the arena into a starry expanse for "All Kinds of Kinds"), the videos that played behind the band sometimes seemed too literal. For "Platinum," the video highlighted blondes Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. For "Baggage Claim," it called upon airport imagery, such as lyrics popping up on an airplane arrival board.

Lambert had a trio of opening acts who kept the music going almost continuously for two hours before the star kicked into her set.

Ashley Monroe, out first, showed off a voice that was quite pretty, if not extraordinarily compelling. Monroe — who is a member of Lambert's side project Pistol Annies and who is Lambert's "best gal pal in the world," according to Lambert herself — returned for the encore, a sweet duet with Lambert on "You've Got a Friend."

The other openers were Justin Moore, who came armed with his cache of catchy singles; and the two-man Jukebox Mafia, who mashed up an amalgam of tunes, from "Radioactive" to "Friends in Low Places."

k.dorsey@theday.com