Rock joins in again later on, running through Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On with an obviously demented Jerry Lee Lewis, the latter joining in on some half-hearted instrument-destruction to the tune of taking his mike stand and beating the piano with it a couple times. And then he grabs the microphones. Best to beat the motherfucking piano with these things like as if it were a tom-tom, seems to be the thinking.
The whole affair is relatively hit-and-miss, but the hit-rate is much higher than you might expect. Certainly the dreary duet with Carole King is far from amazing, and the version of Opportunity To Cry with The Holmes Brothers works better on paper, or indeed album, than it does here.
But shut your stinking face if you were thinking that this is nothing but a bunch of old country singing types moaning and groaning alongside Kid Rock. You'd be at least 89% inaccurate, were you to assume such a preposterous supposition.
Every time Merle Haggard takes the stage, the damn thing explodes with glory. Haggard, Nelson and Tobey Keith running through Pancho And Lefty is something to be cherished, is what The Duke would sternly suggest.
Also, there's a fella by the name of Ben Harper who, until now, had been woefully off the mark regarding getting anywhere near The Duke's attention, but turns in a brilliant performance here, joining Willie for Midnight Rider, and then providing plenty of the slide-guitar for reggae immortal Toots Hibbert on Pressure Drop. Harper has the look of a young fella never a stranger to a dollar or six, but yet when he starts sliding that gold thing up and down the guitar neck, and making pained expressions and hollering about "life" and so on, you'd swear they just ten minutes ago picked him up from off the street outside a revivalist church meeting, sipping mentholated spirits from a discarded MacDonalds cup. He's got the craft of the storyteller down to a T, is what, or probably even a U, and his voice, also, is sublimely emotive.
There's a pleasing multicultural element to the entire show, with not only Harper and Hibbert being in attendance, but also the Latin three-piece Los Lonely Boys (fantastic, I might add), the "Reverend Al Green", who makes as good a case as any for why we should be grabbing his new record, and also the aforementioned Holmes Brothers.
Article comments
1 - Lono
Duke, as always you rule. I only recently discovered the genius of Willie a few years ago when he and Cash did a Storytellers show that is life affirming, to say the least. Growing up on Metallica, I am admittedly late to the party.
My one hope is to get to see Wilie play live before he goes. In recent pictures, he looks about 105... but we know the weed gets him through. thanks for a good piece on an American treasure who won't be properly appreciated, I fear, until he is gone.
Also, the fabrication was outstanding... though the piece could have used more swearing.
I remain a fervant fan of the Duke, as well as the great Willie Nelson. You anywhere near Denver? We need to have a beer sometime.
Lono
2 - Jim Carruthers
I once got to see a televised concert by Willie Nelson and some of his people, as a result of my landlord totally fucking up the electrics in my apartment, and me decamping to a hotel room with the cable and Willie Nelson channel. And sending my landlord the bill.
So, yes, Willie Nelson rules, if only because he used his super-powers to totally fuck my landlord.
3 - HW Saxton
Sir Duke,this sounds like a pretty good
watch despite Kid Rock.Too bad Jerry Lee
didn't give him the business end of 4/5
bottle of Jim Beam upside his silly ass
skull.That would be a better watch IMO.
You're as right as rain about Merle H.
I've seen literally hundreds of shows &
concerts (I'm a stagehand,it goes with
the turf)mainly as an active participant
running a spotlight,working sound or on
the lighting crew. I mention this fact
because,the sheer numbers of performers
and performances I've seen have made me
more than a little jaded about supposed
greatness.
Once in a while someone is so goddamned
good,so truly talented and such a decent
human being that it restores your faith
in people.Merle H. is one of those cats.
I worked one of his gigs in the mid 80's
at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas.Before he
played he was hanging out backstage and
bullshitting with his band and all of us
guys on the local crew. I told him I had
(still do)some 8mm video footage of Bob
Wills playing at the Golden Nugget Hotel
in downtown LV. He said he love to see
it, especially since three of his band
mates were original members of the Texas
Playboy band. We invited him over to a
BBQ at my friends house the day after
the show and gave him a phone number so
if he wanted to stop over we'd give him
directions etc. We never really thought
it would happen(and it didn't sadly),but
he actually called himself!!! to say he
was sorry and maybe next time he could.
For him to do such a thing,blew me away.
What a cool & considerate guy,it fucking
blew me away!Anyways,he was one of the
best concerts I've ever seen in my life
and that includes The Ramones,The Who,
Van Halen(w/Dave),The Stones in '78,Bob
Marley & The Wailers etc.
He'll be remembered in the history books
long after the likes of Toby Keith,Garth
Brooks & all of those other shit stains
on the BVD's of C&W music history have
male modelled themselves back down to
their Dante-esque point of origin.
Anyway,excellent review as per the usual
there Duke De Muthafuckin' Mondo. Later.