Photo by J.Kubin
http://communities.washingtontimes.com
by Jacquie Kubin
VIENNA, VA (8/5/10) – There are voices that define each generation. Watching Willie Nelson perform at Wolf Trap, I realized his is one of mine.
Nelson’s career reaches back to the early 1960s when the aspiring songwriter first sold Crazy (for loving you) to Patsy Klein (1962) reaching #2 on the country charts and becoming a signature tune for the songstress.
Putting the Texas cowboy on the map.
Nelson become an American icon during the 1970s – he was the outlaw cowboy, the real thing, that millions of urban cowboys dreamed they could be, and cowgirls fell in love with.
Now 77, Nelson appeared before a sold out crowd that spanned the generations. Grandparents leading their grand children and young men and women there to enjoy the songs of this living legend.
Very much in the trademark style the artist has shown over the last five decades, he walked onto a very large stage, of which he took only a small part. No light shows or risers. Just a Texas flag behind him and a spot and some color lights surround.
Simple. The star of this show was Nelson and his guitar. His music, decades in the making blends country, folk, jazz, rock and roll, western swing and reggae.
From the first notes of opener “Whiskey River” we watched entranced by the music he has created.
To see Nelson play live, is to see a guitarist who creates sounds that are crystal clear and beyond description with mere words as he bends notes that seem to be enlivened with the soul of a Gypsy to create memorable moments in time.
The hour-forty or fifty-minute show ran through a greatest hits library of songs. Of which there are many.
Joining pianist Bonnie Nelson, bassist Bee Spears, drummer Paul English and harp player Mickey Raphael, Nelson opened the show with Whiskey River, a song that was once fast paced and rousing, but that now seemed to be a memory of times past.
It may have been the older crowd or the oppressive heat, but it seemed that people were comfortable to sit easily, tapping a foot, clapping along without being boisterous.
The audience was filled with “cowgirls” from across the age range, remembering the first time they heard “Nightlife” or “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.”
Songs such as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “On the Road Again” and “Good Hearted Woman” rousing the crowd to sing, dance and clap along.
While the audience became quiet, listening with their hearts as he sang standards “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Always On My Mind.”
Nelson seemed happy to be with the Wolf Trap crowd. Someone yelled “How ya’ doing?” and he responded in that voice that is only his “Well, I guess I’m doing fine, but it seems it was only yesterday…,” before breaking into “Funny How Time Slips Away”
Which is not to say there were not the young women, singing and swaying hoping to catch Willie’s attention and receive one of the bandana’s he would put on his head for a song or two before throwing it to the crowd.
Nelson’s guitar playing is unchanged. It remains fresh and crisp. Emotive. Soulful. Similarly his voice remains as we remember, only slightly reflecting his age. It was one of the best sounding shows seen at Wolf Trap this year.
But the songs of youth, love and longing; the songs that evoked the freedom of the open range, or vagabound lifestyle and made us dream of growing up to be a cowboy, even if we lived in Chicago, still sound good. Songs that still bring wistful sighs, and cheers of remembrance.
Leaving the show I encountered a young woman, maybe the same age I was when I first learned the absolute beauty of “Stardust Memories” while watching the sunrise reflected out my window.
And she was truly in love with the man she just saw perform. Repeatedly declaring him the best, the best ever. And holding back a tear when she realized the tour bus had left with the cowboy of her dreams.
Which is why Willie Nelson was, and is, one of those voices for a generation. He made his fans believe in whiskey, love and having a good time with good friends. And he still is.
And Nelson’s good times, including those with pal Waylon Jennings, whom he recorded “Momma Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys “ (Ed and Patsy Bruce) with, are legion. That song, from the 1978 album Waylon and Willie has become the defacto theme to the outlaw country music, so named because it did not really fit within Nashville’s “country and western” box.
Making sure we remembered the antics of life on the road Nelson sang “Me and Paul,” written in tribute to his longtime friend and drummer Paul English, a wonderful ditty about some of the cities his journeys took him to, and the ones that asked him to leave.
“There are a lot more old drunks than old doctors, so I think I will have another round” brought out a chuckle and cheer from the crowd as Nelson sang “I Gotta Get Drunk,” smiling like an outlaw.
“Superman” had us smiling and as the band played on after the singing of “City of New Orleans” was done, Nelson greeted his fans, shaking hands and leaving new memories behind as he walked off the stage.
Always a cowboy. Always alone.
The Jack Daniels bottles of shows gone by were surely missing.
And so was Willie’s braid. I am not sure what made him remove that trademark. Again, it may have been age, or heat. But like the Jack Daniels, I did miss it.
It only made sense to stop after the show. Requesting Jack neat, and punching Red Headed Stranger into what now passes for a jukebox seemed fitting, however the young-hip techno crowd did not appreciate it.
Made me wish I could set my boots up on the chair next to me.
Because I know Heaven holds a special place for cowboys – and cowgirls.
Photo: Kay Williams
Photo: Kay Williams
