Forget what you know about Willie Nelson.
Sure, you know him as a musician, and probably associate certain things with that
name: a guy who loves pot, once owed a
lot of money to the IRS, makes funny commercials and cameos in movies and tv shows.
Who is he really though?
Nelson was born in 1933 during the Great Depression. He was
performing with bands and playing before he was a teen and by his late 20's he
had become a successful songwriter. He wrote a little song called
"Crazy" which made a legend out of Patsy Cline in 1961, and then
spent the next fifty plus years defining and redefining songwriting and music.
Nelson has created an influential body of work, mainly country but often mixing
genres - taking recent detours through blues and reggae, but always sounding
like Willie.
Nelson is an icon, an outlaw, a cowboy, a fierce guitar
player and nuanced singer, a great songwriter, a larger than life character who
seems hewn from a piece of granite. He is still out on the road most of the time
at age 79, outperforming many people a quarter of his age.
Using imagery from one of his best albums (1996's Spirit), Nelson is like an old grizzled
matador who refuses to cede the ring because he knows he can still battle and
because it's the only life he knows.
A more apt comparison might be to that of a wily old boxer
(like Philly icon Bernard Hopkins), who gets knocked down a lot, but always
gets back up swinging and wins more than his share of fights. Nelson hasn't
stayed down on the mat or off the road long in his 72 years of performing, and
he showed on Sunday night at the Keswick Theatre that he is still a champion.
Nelson's voice, while weathered, is still strong and
memorable. His unique guitar playing - short staccato bursts of notes, with a
strong Spanish/Classical influence - remains powerful as ever. Nelson and his
crack band mixed classics, some deep cuts and a few recent songs to the delight
of a packed house for almost two hours. The crowd listened carefully to the old
master and between songs erupted in applause, letting Nelson know he was deeply
revered and appreciated.
Highlights: "Still is Still Moving To Me",
"Always On My Mind", "Angel Flying Too Close To The
Ground", a medley of "Funny How Time Slips Away/Crazy/Nightlife"
and late in the set a showstopper – a brilliant, epic "Ou Es-Tu, Mon
Amour?/I Never Cared for You" (from 1998’s overlooked Teatro), showing that this gunslinger still has a lot of bullets
left.
Go see him if you get the chance, you will find him in his
home - out on the road.
Thanks to the Keswick Theatre for putting on the show, it's a wonderful venue, check it out here
Thanks to the Keswick Theatre for putting on the show, it's a wonderful venue, check it out here
PS -this review was published in a slightly edited form, due to space and the beginning overlapping with a previous post, on the website phawker.com, see the published version here
Sadly I was unable to get clearance to take photos from Willie's reps in time before the show, you can see my other photo work here
See my review and pics of Greg Lake's recent Keswick Show here.
Sadly I was unable to get clearance to take photos from Willie's reps in time before the show, you can see my other photo work here
See my review and pics of Greg Lake's recent Keswick Show here.
