Merle and Kris

I really wanted to make it out to the Prince Rama show at PL Monday night, but I've been fighting a cold and we're going to D.C. this weekend so I wanted to get some rest and avoid potentially blowing out my always perilous immune system with another late night and the always perilous threat of too much imbibing. Too bad because word is it was great. Maybe next time.

Instead, Tuesday night I went to a show that was probably the exact opposite in almost every way imaginable. My brother-in-law bought himself, my dad, brother and me tickets to Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson at Tennessee Theatre. That was nice because I only see my dad and brother, who live on a farm about an hour's drive from Knoxville, maybe nine or ten times a year, usually at holidays and birthdays. It was a good chance to socialize with them in a way we never do. My dad said he hasn't been to a concert in decades, and I'm sure my brother hasn't been to one in at least 10 or 15 years either.

I grew up listening to a lot of country, my mom preferring the more-pop-than-country sounds of Kenny and Dolly and Juice and Sylvia, my dad going in for Waylon and Willie and the boys. Merle was his favorite, and I always liked him, too, because his music seemed less shit-kicking, and often had a melancholy devoid of the melodrama so plentiful in country music. Plus he had that great song you could sing along with and get away with saying "hell." And that song was probably the first place I heard about this "Nixon." I'd seen Merle twice before, once at the Kentucky state fair about 8 years ago, and once at the Tennessee Theatre about 2 or 3 years ago. His concerts are basically greatest hits affairs, which is great because you're reminded how many hits he had and how great a songwriter he is. He's easily my favorite living country artist, and I'd probably put him behind Hank Williams as my second favorite. All due respect to Willie, Waylon and Jones, but they just never wrote as many great songs, Merle's voice has held up remarkably well and he incorporated more Western swing and jazz into his music. Willie's still a more interesting guitar player, but Merle's a good picker, too.

I thought the evening might be split between an hour or so of Kris and an hour of so of Merle, especially after Kris came out and did a song alone with acoustic guitar. His voice sounded rough as he croaked along. He apologized, saying he'd been sick, then reminded us his voice had never been that great to begin with. Then Merle and the band came out and the two swapped songs the rest of the night, Merle doing about 3 for every 2 of Kris'. It was a startling contrast not just because Kris' voice was so ragged and Merle's so smooth, but Kris' tempos were all slow, and most of his songs downers. The vocal problem actually wasn't so bad, because the songs he chose to perform came off like they were written by a world-weary older guy; it was as if voice had grown into his songs. I sat between my dad and this 80-ish year old woman who sat very prim and proper and didn't make a noise the whole night, until she sang along with "Sunday Morning Coming Down." That was sweet and weird.

(Speaking of which, there was more than one walker with wheels in attendance. Who knew so many older folk like songs about alcohol and misery? I guess the tunes are familiar, and the melodies are so pleasant and hummable.)

Like I said, with Merle it's a greatest hits revue, so he played about everything you can imagine except "Are the Good Times Really Over." I guess the question the song poses has been answered, since things are so much worse than when he recorded the song back in 1981. Too bad. It's a crowd pleaser. He did do "Okie From Muskogee," making the requisite pot jokes beforehand letting you know he was down, that you shouldn't take the song too seriously. He even let Kris sing a verse of his version, making fun of the original. I've never been sure how seriously we were supposed to take the song, and as he introduced it, Merle said he wrote it for his dad, who's from Oklahoma. Whether or not he personally shared the point of view of "Okie's" narrator is beside the point; he accurately and poetically depicted the point of view of that small town mindset. And with a great tune. That's part of what makes Merle such a unique songwriter. He can write songs for and about the jingoistic patriot and the disenfranchised rebel, the counterculture and the blue collar working man. Maybe not so much the middle class, but they're already overrepresented, plus their art is generally lousy anyway.

The last song they did together was "Poncho and Lefty" and it's a tribute to how great that song is that the punched-up, bright keyboard mariachi version they did didn't make it any less compelling. Again, Kris' voice made his (originally Willie's) parts that much more tragic.