photo by Sam Goresh
www.blogs.creativeloafing.com
by Gabe Echazabal
Willie Nelson and Family, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
In a day and age when glitz and glamour are the necessary ingredients to make it big in country music, it’s nice to be treated to an evening of pure, unadorned entertainment from one of the architects of the genre. For a lesson in “how it’s done,” there’s no one out there nowadays who exemplifies that better than the original Texas outlaw, Willie Nelson.
Anticipation was high for Willie’s first visit to the Tampa Bay area in four years … especially since this show was originally supposed to take place last March but was postponed due to illness. Fans were urged to hang on to their tickets purchased for the original date as they’d be honored for the rescheduled show. And judging from the enthusiastic response from the anxious sellout crowd of the 2,180 packed into Ruth Eckerd Hall, Willie is definitely worth waiting for.
The performance began promptly at 8 o’clock on the dot. No opening act — just the main attraction and his band. A night with Willie Nelson and Family, as his touring entourage is billed, is as much a history lesson as it is a damn good time. Like a continuous jukebox that spits out hit after hit after hit, Nelson is as much at ease reaching back into his amazing catalog of signature tunes (”Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” “On The Road Again”) as he is when he borrows from the catalogs of other country music giants. Fans were treated to Willie’s own renditions of classics by Kris Kristofferson (”Me and Bobby McGee”), Tom T. Hall (”Shoeshine Man”) and a trio of Hank Williams standards: “Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Move It On Over.”
All the borrowed material became Nelson’s own as he added his distinguishable vocals and stellar guitar playing to the performance. Especially well-received was Willie’s own take on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 magnum opus “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” (originally written by A.P. Carter in the 1920’s) that turned into a sing-along, clap-along, stomp-along showstopper.
As welcomed as the cover versions were, make no mistake about it — this rowdy crowd came to hear Willie’s own canon of chart-topping smash hits. As a massive Texas state flag hung behind him, the inimitable Willie Nelson churned out classic after classic — all the tunes that have endeared him to his legions of fans for decades and solidified his place as a country music legend. Favorites like “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground,” “Whiskey River” and “Bloody Mary Morning” sounded as fresh and inspired as ever.
Amazing that Willie, now 76 years old, is still out there proving his worth every night. Sure, he’s not as young and fiery as he used to be, but he can still elicit the most passionate roar from a crowd than anyone else his age can. His trusty and battered sidekick, his acoustic guitar affectionately named “Trigger,” still sounds as clear and warm as ever despite the holes and scuffs it’s endured over the years. It mirrors Nelson’s own endurance and staying power for the better part of five decades.
Clad only in plain black t-shirt, worn black jeans and his trademark red bandanas (some of which he threw into the crowd as souvenirs), Willie proved that a simple, humble approach is really what true, hardcore country music fans value most.
The night’s most hearty reactions came when Willie performed his own classics … guaranteed, bonafide cornerstones of country music history that, although popularized by other artists, “Crazy” (Patsy Cline), “Night Life” (Ray Price) and “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Billy Walker), are true testaments to Willie’s guaranteed place in music history.
For ninety solid minutes, Willie wooed and wowed the crowd, proving that great songs and undeniable talent are what it takes to keep an audience captive and loyal for decades. And while he’s still going strong in his late 70’s, who can argue with his approach?