| Willie Nelson and Family Band Perform at Alliance Bank Stadium |
www.syracuse.com/poststandard
by Mark Bialczak
Willie Nelson turned out to be strong of voice and ready to roll.
The country music icon led his five-piece Family Band through 20 songs in 65 minutes.
From the pleasing starter, “Whiskey River” to the joyful finale, “I Saw the Light,” Nelson was crisp and sure of himself. The sound mix mostly featured his country voice and acoustic guitar. On his sweet take on “Georgia” and Nelson’s classic ballad “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” that was plenty.
Once in a while, though, the honky-tonk piano of his little sister, Bobbie Nelson, and charging harmonica of longtime band mate Mickey Raphael worked their way pleasingly to the top of the mix.
The piano spiced up “Hey Good Lookin’,” and the harp added the proper blues touch to “Move It On Over.”
When Nelson led the band through Hank Williams’ gem “Jambalaya,” it was pure Willie-billy music.
http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2009/07/willie_nelson_and_family_band.html