 
|
|||||||||
              
|
Concert Review: Country's Willie Nelson shines amid classical opulence of Heinz Hall
Wednesday, July 26, 2000 By Jerry Sharpe
Ask me what my dream concert would be as a reviewer, and I'd say it would be to put top country music in a venue with good acoustics and with no interference from rowdy people in the audience.
That was Willie Nelson and Family at Heinz Hall last night.
If Nelson had been a good conventional crooner, nobody would have heard of him. Instead, he has a soft, reedy voice and unconventional phrasing. He's also a crack songwriter, and one of the world's best guitarists.
Last night, he unleashed all his talents in a 45-song, 2 1/4-hour, nonstop concert that got plenty of applause from an audience that in itself was interesting. The crowd that goes to concerts in dresses, high heels, sport coats and slacks mixed with the country crowd in boots and jeans.
And Nelson rolled out hit after hit, stopping occasionally only long enough to say "thank you."
Nelson is in his late 60s, but his voice was as strong as ever. His beard was gray, but he wore long pigtails under a red bandanna and black hat -- the "cool" outlaw image he cherishes.
He opened the concert with the same opener he used nearly 30 years ago, "Whiskey River," as sideman Mickey Raphael injected some blues notes on the harmonica.
Then after a brief pause, Nelson sang the late Bob Wills' "Stay a Little Longer" as sister Bobbie added tinkling piano.
On "Good Hearted Woman," guitarist Jody Payne added vocals for a duet.
On "Funny How Time Slips Away," Nelson did some great melody pickin' on the old guitar he's used so long that there's a hole in the top.
The audience loved "Crazy," the song the late Patsy Cline made famous when Nelson was an obscure songwriter.
Of course, he didn't want to neglect the fans of his pop albums, so he included "Blue Skies," "Georgia" and "Stardust," among others.
All the while, Nelson's grin said he enjoyed making music as much as the audience liked listening to it.
At one point he strolled to the edge of the stage, took the bandanna from his head and tossed it into the crowd.
But it wasn't until near the end of his concert that he hauled out his "discovery" hit from the 1970s -- "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain."
Midway though his concert, he added the gospel standard "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."
A medley, during which the audience clapped in time, included such old-time country standards as "Mountain Dew" and "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms."
And, of course, he included a segment of "Red Headed Stranger," the song which was made into a movie he appeared in.
Jerry Sharpe covers country music for the Post-Gazette.
|
||||||||
