Country music legends, or legends of any musical sort, are really a crap shoot. Back in February, I saw George Jones at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Jones came out looking hale and hearty, barrel-chested and strong. Three songs in, he was breathing hard, and his range was severely diminished.
Last night, at the same venue, I saw Merle Haggard play for just over an hour straight, and with a few exceptions, and lessened volume, it could have been a performance from 1970.
Haggard came out to a standing ovation, and went straight into music. He and the Strangers went through several songs before the man said much beyond "hello." After that, the songs were interspersed with jokes and commentary on where the songs were written, and most tunes were dedicated to someone, be it servicemen, mothers, or ex-cons.
The band was spot-on, if a bit ragged when it came to ending the free-wheeling bits towards the end of the songs. Haggard's voice proved to be surprisingly subtle at times, especially on songs like "Silver Wings." However, the man could still belt 'em out, as "Mama Tried" and show-closer "Okie From Muskogee" proved.
Of course, the best part of any country show is the audience. In this case, you had your two-second delay drunks, wherein Haggard would get to the end of the line "I'll just stay here and drink," only to have there be a brief pause, and a shout of "DRINK!" The audience also demonstrated how quickly a good mood could go sour when, as the band worked their way through a spirited rendition of the Bob Wills classic "Take Me Back to Tulsa." A couple began dancing in front of the stage, and were asked to go back to their seats. The booing that erupted may have eclipsed any of the cheers given for any of the songs.
It was a shame (although, I do understand -- fire codes and all) that the song had to be ruined. Haggard is a noted Wills' disciple, and even managed to work in a little Wills "ah-ha!" during the tune.
Set list
Branded Man
White Line Fever
Fugitive
I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
Silver Wings
Mama Tried
I Wish A Buck Were Still Silver
That's The Way Love Goes
Workin' Man Blues
Pretty When It's New
Sing Me Back
If We Make It Through December
Big City
Today I Started Loving You Again
Take Me Back to Tulsa
I Had A Little Gal
Rainbow Stew
FIghtin' Side of Me
My Heart Just Settled Back to Earth
Okie From Muskogee
Haggard's band the Strangers opened the show, with his son Noel singing. We walked in as Noel and the Strangers were working they way through "Stop the World and Let Me Off." We'd have been there sooner, but had to park on the other side of the interstate, and as we walked in, we saw the Phelps clan loading picket signs in the back of a pickup. That's usually the mark of a good show.
The Strangers' set consisted of tunes like "Dealing With the Devil," wherein the stage lights went red and Noel sang about...well, dealing with the devil. It's not like country music trucks in a lot of veiled metaphors. His new, "three days old" acoustic guitar kept cutting out, and it was on that complaint that Noel Haggard introduced the Malpass Brothers, recent signees to Haggard's label. The two brothers, backed by the Strangers, did a couple of numbers that were classic: "Hello Walls," as well as Charlie Walker's "Who Will Buy the Wine?"
It was a wonderful show, the likes of which I am happy to have made the trek out west to see. As I mentioned yesterday, TPAC doesn't have a bad seat in the house, and really, you have to make your way to a town slightly less cultured than Kansas City to get a crowd that truly appreciates someone like Merle Haggard. And, considering artists such as he are getting older and less able, your chances to see them at all are to the point where you ought to see them anywhere you can.
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