| Concert Review: Merle Haggard | |
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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
It's rather intimidating to be in the presence of a living legend. More so, perhaps, when even
the legend himself refuses to act like anything more than an ordinary, somewhat grizzled man who shows signs of a hard life all over his fiercely powerful face. He is Merle Haggard, and in his presence, I was awed and humbled.
Merle Haggard has long been the living embodiment of all that country music really is and all it
should be. He does not cover his flaws with excessive displays, with gimmicks, Pro Tools, video
enhancements, or skimpy dancers. Merle simply plays his music, which still stands as some of
the grandest pure country music ever written.
Merle bounded to the low, circular stage of Phoenix's Celebrity Theatre with tremendous energy, his teeth bared in a tight, eager, vicious smile. He was dressed simply, wearing comfortable jeans, boots, and a t-shirt adorned with "Good Ol' Boys Honky Tonk Heaven" on the back (decorated with a vulture). Merle pulled on an old, beat-up fishing hat and a pair of
wire-rimmed dark glasses. He didn't look like a legend; but he doesn't need to sparkle. He already shines. He
grabbed his faithful Stratocaster and turned around to entertain us.
And ENTERTAIN he did. The theatre was packed to the back walls, filled to capacity with a
wide variety of fans, ranging from young children to the elderly and every walk of life in
between. Everyone there came to see the living legend: This man who has never once varied from his true
musical path, even as he has confused people as to his political leanings through his songs. It didn't
matter how young or how old, how Republican or how Liberal the audience was: Everyone cheered as
Merle Haggard took the stage.
Unfortunately, I can't recall everything Merle sang. While I was there, I sang along and
clapped and cheered, and I knew every single word to every song, but after it was over, I kept
thinking of more and more songs he DIDN'T sing. But then, Merle's catalog is so vast, and so overly
packed with great songs, not to mention giant hits, that he was able to sing for a full hour and a half
and still have at least a million songs left over. He did sing "Swingin' Doors," "Mama Tried," "I Think I'll
Just Stay Here and Drink," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Star," "Ramblin' Fever," "Big City," "Rainbow Stew," "Are The Good Times Really Over," "Tulare Dust," "Today I Started Loving You Again," "Motorcycle Cowboy," "Fightin' Side of Me" (introduced with a fierce little speech about how the song becomes topical once every decade or so, which seemed to indicate that while he's far more liberal these days than he used to be, he's still got a lot of pride in America!), and of course, "Okie From Muskogee." His voice sounded great. If anything, Merle is getting smoother and more
powerful vocally as he grows older. There was no need for any computer tricks, no vocal enhancements,
no tweaking to make sure he stayed on key. He was right there, on the money, every single time,
from heart-wrenching ballads to his honky-tonkin' country swing.
I was a little disappointed, after the fact, that he didn't sing anything from Roots Vol. One,"
but he sang all original material in the show, with the sole exception of a powerful rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues," and I have to say I didn't even notice any lack while the show was going on. I was
also sorry, much later, when I remembered he didn't sing some of my very favorites, like "I Take a Lot of
Pride in What I Am," and "The Roots of My Raisin'." But since I didn't remember any of those
until later, it did not mar my enjoyment of the evening one bit.
Merle was obviously having a good time, playing around with the somewhat boisterous audience as well as his band members; he stepped back from the mic to allow Freddy Powers to sing the poignant "Silver Eagle." (Freddy sounds so much like Willie Nelson someone started calling for Willie songs from the audience. A fellow got to the stage and asked for "Seven Spanish Angels."
Merle did a brief, hilarious, spot-on impersonation of Willie as he sang a line of the requested song.) He played with the microphone when a power surge made it "snap" at him; he made jokes about his age, and he left us very much wanting more. Merle doesn't need to do encores, and he didn't do one here; when the show was over, it was over.
It was one of the best country shows I've ever been to. I can't remember when I enjoyed myself so much. Merle made me think of good times, made me miss my father, and entertained me far more than any arena show with fireworks and jugglers. Merle doesn't need 'em. Merle can sing. He's the real thing without any embellishments. If you want country music, you don't have to look any further than Merle Haggard.
