Today is Willie Nelson's 84th birthday. This man still hops on Trigger and plays full-length live shows like it was 1975. If you are not used to playing in front of an audience, even a small one, a twenty minute set can feel like a long time; and then there is Willie, who still plays for a good hour and a half for crowds that reach biblical proportions.
I would like to share a little article about Willie Nelson in honor of his birthday. It is a list of 25 things you might not know about Willie. I knew quite a bit, such as the fact that he was an encyclopedia salesman for a while, but I did not know that he once sang a duet of "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" with First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the White House. I wonder if President Carter pumped his fist and hollered, "So well! So well! So well!" during the chorus. Happy birthday to Willie Nelson, everybody's favorite uncle!
Bob Weir played the Music Hall at Fair Park last night, and the show was outstanding. He opened with a solo acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" and in the first set played several songs from his album "Blue Mountain," the lyrics of which were largely penned by Josh Ritter. The title track, "Blue Mountain," includes a reference to the Blue Goose Saloon in Gardiner, Montana, the little town at the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. In my Yellowstone days I heard stories about the tough old Texas cowboy who owned the Blue Goose and how, despite his venerable age, he still assumed the role of bouncer at his establishment. I tip my hat to songwriters willing to make obscure references in the name of authenticity.
The second set started out with a valentine to Texas, opening up with "El Paso" and then heading into "Deep Elem Blues." It was great to hear Bob Weir play "Deep Elem Blues" just up the road from Deep Ellum. Weir and the band also played "Truckin'" and the crowd sang the word "Dallas" with gusto. "Friend of the Devil" seemed to serve as the gateway between the acoustic and the electric, with the electro-psychedelic portion of the show including "Althea," "Cassidy," and an extended "Standing on the Moon." After signalling the show's end with "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad," for an encore Weir played a solo acoustic "Ki-Yi Bossie," which he recorded with Ramblin' Jack Elliot, before ending with the Campfire Band on "Ripple," a perennial favorite. I greatly enjoyed this stop of the Campfire Tour and am glad that Weir decided to release material inspired by his days working as a young cowboy in Wyoming. In conclusion, the show was a fine balance between traditional acoustic cowboy music and the psychedelic sound of the Grateful Dead. I was grateful to be there. Grateful indeed.
