Also performing on Sunday night were Jessi Colter, Ray Herndon, Jerry Riopelle, Steven Van Zandt, Shooter Jennings, Beth Neilsen Chapman, Tony Joe White, and Tony Furtado, as well as a few performances from local artists and writers. The show was broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio for folks all across the country, and all proceeds benefitted Rosie's House, a music academy for children in Arizona.
I arrived early and found my pass waiting for me, although my name wasn't on the list at least one woman knew who I was there with. Unfortunately, I never did manage to find or meet my contact, or find out what table I was supposed to sit at, so I missed some of the early parts of the show while hanging around waiting for them to find me a spot. I lucked into an out-of-the-way niche by the front door where I could hear the music, see the sound board monitor of what was happening on stage, and people-watch to my heart's content. The Handlebar J is a beautiful little reminder that the Phoenix area IS still a part of the West (something you can't find too much in this city), a cozy honky-tonk that serves up plates of barbecue and beans and cold longnecks for a good price. It was a balm to my spirit to see so many cowboys in full regalia there to listen to good ol' country music.
Jessi Colter was playing as I arrived and she looks and sounds wonderful, just as pretty as ever. I was seated while Shooter Jennings was on, and he impressed the heck out of me, especially his serious country-rock chops. It was a true treat to listen to the awesome and amazing Jerry Riopelle, who did his fantastic "Red Ball Texas Flyer." But it was clear the audience was there for one fellow, and he came on promptly at 8:30. (I assume it was an early show here in the west because of the live radio broadcast; that would have been 11:30 back east.)
Bocephus! It's always a thrill for me to share the same room with a living legend, and there's no doubt in my mind that Hank Williams Jr. is just that. He's long ago emerged from the shadow of his father's name, and while he can still sing a mean Hank Sr. song when he wants to, it's his own tunes that make his show, and make him one of the premiere "outlaws" in the new brand of Outlaw Country.
Hank didn't bring an entire band with him, taking to the stage with just himself and his guitar, proving he can by-golly play that sucker. He ripped out with "All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight" and got the whole place rockin' and singing along right out of the gate. He didn't need to set off sparklers or skyrockets or body-surf his audience to get them going, he did it all just sitting on a bar stool with a plain acoustic guitar. Yee haw, God Bless The Outlaws. We raised the roof for him just because he was THERE. No one cared that we all stood on our chairs for the first number.
Bocephus played for a little over an hour, taking some time to reminisce about Waylon and get a hug from Jessi. He'd sometimes start one song and decide to do another instead, and a couple of times he'd play jokes, such as a take-off on "Battle of New Orleans" about being on the road on a tour. He got a round of cheers (and a boo or two) when he did his old battle cry for Monday Night Football and announced the Cardinals didn't stand a chance of ever getting there. Hey, we know our team. But over it all, throughout the night, he was fun, he was spontaneous, and through it all, he was just himself. A living legend.
He closed out the show with a medley of "A Country Boy/American Can Survive," then introduced Tony Joe White back to the stage and they did a rockin' blues number that was ready to bring the house down. The cheers from the audience and encouragement from the announcer got Bocephus back to encore "Family Tradition." The only thing he didn't sing, sadly, was his new single, "Why Can't We All Just Get a Longneck?"
What an awesome night. The five-time Entertainer of the Year earned those awards. He should still be earning them.
Set List:
- All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight
- I Cannot Remember Her Name (?)
- All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down
- Tear In My Beer
- Waylon's Guitar
- Hey, Baby, I Love You (?)
- If You Don't Like Hank Williams
- Move It On Over/Lovesick Blues (medley)
- A Whole Lotta Liquor To Like 'Er
- Last Pork Chop
- If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Dixie
- The Conversation
- This Time
- The American Way
- Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound
- Young Country
- Big River
- Here I Am Falling Again
- Dinosaur
- Country Boy/America Can Survive
- Family Tradition