“I wonder how many of these folks will stay around for Bob Dylan once Merle Haggard is done.”
Old guy behind me at Bob Dylan concert. Haggard was the opening act.
Answer: Most of them, though not the man that asked it — who said he’d had open-heart surgery two weeks ago. He was gone after just a few Dylan numbers.
Haggard, who turned 69 last week, sounded great, but the crowd never seemed with him — and he with it. A good 25-30 percent were still arriving when he began, and I noticed, for example, the couple to the left of me and the two women in front of me seldom applauded his numbers. I mean, my god folks, this is a legend; he’s performed at the White House. The Country Music Hall of Fame says, “Merle Ronald Haggard remains, with the arguable exception of Hank Williams, the single most influential singer-songwriter in country music history.”
Haggard performed a short set of about 40-45 minutes. The Stangers (Haggard’s band) was hot. The crowd got into it a little with “Silver Wings” and “I Think I’ll Just Sit Here and Drink.” Near the end, Haggard started into his signature song, “Okie from Muskogee,” then quit after a few bars saying, “Oh, I forgot this is a rock and roll crowd, you don’t want to hear that.” He closed out instead with “The Fightin’ Side of Me.” No encore.
It’s an odd pairing when you think about it — a rock legend and a country legend. NewMexiKen thought it was great, but too many people raised on format radio aren’t into eclectic I guess.
I think that’s an EXCELLENT pairing, and not just because they’re both legends, either. It breaks my heart to read that he wasn’t even called back for an encore. Poor Merle, he deserves better.
Feh.
This pisses me off. Merle Haggard has more soul in his left ear lobe than the yuppie pricks who didn’t show him the proper respect.
Thanks for the concert review, Ken. Wish I’d have gone.
swt
I’m not much of a country music fan…(although I did applaud Merle’s singing). I just wanted to say that I didn’t think the crowd’s response to Merle was as blasé as one might think by reading this commentary. The crowd stood with a cheering round of applause when he entered the stage…and the crowd seemed to enjoy each of his songs. And I must admit…even I was wondering how much of the crowd would leave once he was done…
but let’s face it…he was opening for Dylan…who I had come to see…and it quickly became apparent that Dylan was who had brought almost everyone to Tingley that night.
There’s no question of Merle Haggard’s talents…which were appropriately recognized by the crowd…
the question was who the crowd had come to see…
Merle Haggard has sung some Dylan songs…
so I think he knew the answer to that question before he even agreed to tour with Dylan.
eric