Words of Wisdom

The Willie Nelson Revival June 10, 2011

There are only a handful of true American icons, those who personify that profound spirit pervading the land from sea to shining sea, and perhaps there is no one still living who fits that mold as well as the legendary Willie Nelson. I’ve had the chance to see Willie live several times in the past, but last night’s show was truly wonderful and without a doubt ranks among the best.

I had known about this show for some time, but due to some financial constraints stemming from our upcoming vacation, I knew that it was out of the question to spring for a ticket, so I sadly sat by and watched the concert date approach, wishing that there might be some way that I could make it. Then last week I received a phone call that changed everything. It was around noon and I was sitting in my cubicle, fighting off the doldrums spinning cobwebs around my head when my phone suddenly buzzed with an unknown number. I pressed the green button, gave my customary greeting of “Hello,” and was met with one of the most wonderful sounds imaginable, “Hello,” the unknown female voice on the line said, “You have just won tickets to the Willie Nelson Country Throwdown.”

Suddenly the sun escaped from behind the clouds, breaking the monotony with the force of a sledgehammer. In just a moment’s time, everything turned around for the better.

After calling Diana to express my great, dumbfounded joy, I thought for only a split second about who I should invite to the show before the answer became apparent: my good friend and priest, Patrick. So, I immediately called him at camp, where he was working as a counselor.

Patrick: Matt, how’s it going?

Me: Pretty good, pretty good. Hey, I’ve got a question for you. Do you want to go to Willie Nelson next week?

At this point I’m sure he’s thinking to himself, “You called me at camp for this?” and he proceeded to go through a long, sort of convoluted story about how we wished he could go, but can’t. I let him talk for a minute before breaking in and interrupting him.

Me: Patrick, I’m asking you because I just won tickets.

Patrick: What? No way! Are you serious?! How?!

I told him about the call and he immediately accepted my offer, thus setting us up for the big show.

The festivities for Willie’s Country Throwdown started early in the day – around 3:00pm – but because of work and family responsibilities we made plans to meet at 7:00 and head over, so that we would have plenty of time to see the two main acts of the night: Jamey Johnson and Willie. Upon our arrival at the amphitheater, he and I grabbed a couple of beers and headed over to find a good spot on the lawn. As we moved through the crowd we ran into another good friend of mine, Chris, and his wife, so we stopped for a few minutes and caught up with them. Everything was going well as we found our seats and prepared for the upcoming show.

The first act we saw was Randy Houser, an artist who I had never heard of before but who apparently was at least somewhat well known by the other attendees. His set was decent, but nothing beyond your run-of-the mill country music. As he finished, the sun was completing its daytime run and the temperatures were changing from warm to perfect, setting up the perfect June evening in North Mississippi for a concert.

Jamey Johnson walked onto the stage around 8:30, his long hair and scraggly beard accentuating the old-school, Waylon-esque outlaw persona that perfectly fits his style. He kicked the set off with “High Cost of Living,” then rolled through several cuts from his catalogue like “Cover Your Eyes,” and “The Guitar Song.” He even included a great Willie cover, “Can I Sleep In Your Arms,” as sort of preview and perhaps as a tribute from a new breed of outlaw to those who came before him. The set ended with probably the most beautiful moment of the night when his 7 year old daughter came from backstage and joined him for an incredible, heart-rending version of “In Color.” I’m a sucker for kids singing, so you couldn’t ask for a better way to finish off the set.

Another aspect of the show that intrigued both Patrick and I was that in between the main artists, there were three singer-songwriters who would sit on the stage and each perform a single song. I thought it was a really great idea, both to keep the crowd engaged in between acts and to offer some recognition for these little-known artists. I thought it fit Willie’s station well as an elder statesman who realizes that his time on stage is nearing its end, so he’s giving the younger ones a platform from which to launch their own careers.

Willie hit the stage around 10:00 with his customary opener, “Whiskey River,” and the crowd greeted him with wild applause as the band tore through the well-known standard. Willie was his normal, off-beat singing self, his voice sometimes straying behind the music and sometimes charging ahead, but never quite in line. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to play in his band. I don’t have a full setlist, but Willie ran through several of his biggest songs, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” “On the Road Again,” “Always on my Mind,” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys,” as well as the medley of “Funny How Time Slips Away / Crazy / Night Life” that has long stood like a pillar of Willie’s past in his shows. His son Lukas Nelson, who played earlier in the day, came out with his guitar and joined his father for a great version of the blues classic “Texas Flood,” and Willie even found time for a three song Hank Williams tribute, running through his renditions of “Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Move it On Over.”

To this point the show had been a good one, with Willie playing some of his famous tunes while adding in a few extras to keep things interesting, but it was the grand finale that I thought was particularly poignant. Willie has long had a penchant for throwing in a few gospel standards, but on this particular evening in Southaven, Mississippi, he seemed to take it to a whole new level. It began with the old favorite, “May the Circle Be Unbroken” and soon other performers joined him on stage for the rounding ode to friends and family. Randy Houser stepped back out, as did Jamey Johnson and his young daughter, and all together they sang out loud, “May the circle be unbroken / By and By, Lord, By and By.” But the show wasn’t to end there and soon Willie was in full Gospel evangelist mode, with down home gospel tunes like “I Saw the Light” and “Amazing Grace” ringing through the air as his personal choir grew even larger and everyone joined in the sing-a-long. The redemption ran thick through this big tent meeting-style performance as voices joined together in thankful praise. It was the First Baptist Church of Willie Nelson and fortunately I was there with my own priest in tow.

But, amid the Jesus-y stuff, Willie took another seemingly strange turn off the beaten path, tossing in “Bloody Mary Morning” in between the church tunes. At first thought, it seemed like a strange choice, but the longer I pondered on it, the more ingenious and beautiful it turned. Perhaps this was his ode to the dual nature of humanity, their yearning for redemption against their hunger for pleasure. Maybe this was Willie’s cry in the wilderness, his prophetic message about the human condition.

I don’t know, but whatever it was, it worked. Thank God for Willie Nelson.