Musically Arlo took us on a journey, jumping backwards and forwards in time. From Cisco Huston's "St. James Infirmary", an instrumental honky-tonk tune he learned from the stack of 78 rpm records his father kept in the basement, Steve Goodman's "City Of New Orleans", the previously mentioned song about watching Katrina on television, and a tune called (I don't know if you're familiar with it or not) "Alice's Restaurant".
He only plays it every 10 years now, when he goes on these special anniversary tours, and probably a good portion of the crowd was there just to be able to say that they saw him perform it live and in person. I don't think anyone was disappointed. Somehow he was able to make the song as funny and important as it was the first time I ever heard it.
At one point in my life I had been able to recite the damn thing word for word, and have heard countless versions of it on record. Hearing it last night, long after the Viet Nam war has been over, I realized it still was topical, obviously not for the references to the war, but for its observations about the inanity of the system and its sheer irreverence.
In some ways it's quintessential Arlo, as he takes an event that happened in his life and invests it with meanings that are universal to all of us. Who hasn't experienced a moment of irony like that of Officer Obie's carefully collected "27 8x10 colour glossy photographs with circles on the front and a paragraph on the back of each one" being rendered useless because the judge is blind? All of us can relate to his breaking down in tears at this example of "American blind justice".
Something that often gets lost in the shuffle about Arlo is the fact that he is an accomplished guitar player. You're not aware of it on his records, and if you haven't seen him play in a while it's easy to lump him in amongst three chord folk singers. But last night watching him lay down beautiful leads on songs like "St. James Infirmary" and "Coming Into Los Angeles" I was reminded yet again that he's no slouch whether he's playing either one of his twelve or six string guitars or is parked behind the keys of electric piano.
Article comments
1 - Lono
Arlo is great. I have seen him play a few times, and met him after each show. Dude is a very good guy, and a great storyteller.
2 - Scott Butki
Excellent review. I'm jealous you got to hear him
sing Alice.
3 - Gale
The review is excellent. As to Arlo, I am very happy to know that something so good is lasting so well. I saw him in Santa Monica in 1968 and heard "Alice's Restaurant" when it was relatively new. I agree that his humanity is a most important part of why he is exceptional and I hope we have the man and his music for many years to come.
4 - Steven Gotz
I saw Arlo the last couple of nights in a row at Epcot Center (Disney World in FLorida). When he broke into Alice's Restaurant during his final set of the night, the crowd went nuts. When he did it again the next night, I had an HDV camcorder focused on him.
So I now have him in HD with reasonably good sound. This is something I will be showing to guests in my home for years to come.
I hated to miss tonight's shows, but I may just have to see all three sets on his last night (tomorrow).
5 - da Cat
I heard him sing "Alice" when I was lucky enough to get tickets for his concert in Sarasota FL.
First time I ever heard the song, for I am only 21 years old, but I instantly fell in love with his personality and his way of entertaining his "friends", corse thats how he made me feel.
And the song that keeps on swinging through my brain is "my peace" wich I love and adore in the beauty of its simplicity.
just thought Id let you know.
More or less, I experienced the Concert the same as richard, and will never forget those once in a lifetime goosebumps-breeding rollercoaster ride two hours of living music culture
6 - smack
I was at this Arlo concert in Kingston. It was a mystical, magical night. Contact me for a recording of this concert. Thanks for the review.
7 - Tina C
I have seen Arlo @ our local symphany hall, I also was gifted by a performance on July 7 2007,@ the "Church" in Housatonic(Great Barrington, Mass.) The Church in Alice's restaurant. I can't believe how accurate this above article is. How the writer gets it so right. I watched Arlo that night of his birthday. He is a great performer and story teller and because his legend is so personal and more private than most performers, it makes it greater. I saw him once @ Chicopee High School, in Chicopee Massachusetts. I paid $5 for the ticket and everyone had to bring a non-perishable food item as it was a food bank drive. Arlo seems to find the best places to perform and we keep finding them. It is October 7, 2007, and my boyfriend and I are on our way to "The Church" again tonight to witness another enchanting perfomance by one of the greatest story tellers know to our generation. Thank you.