Opening with “Whiskey River” and sticking with his tried and true song list, there were almost no detours tonight. The concert was also a bit shorter than the last few that I’ve seen. On the positive side, I’ve never seen him as appreciative or appear to be having as good of a time as he was this night. It’s always something special to see and hear the reaction of the crowd when Nelson and his “Family” kick into double time during “Good Hearted Woman” or when he slides up the familiar neck of his guitar Trigger for the bluesy parts of “Night Life.” As always, Willie paid tribute to his friends Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings with “Me & Bobby McGee” and “Luckenbach, Texas. Plus, he sunk his teeth into the material of Hank Williams, The Carters and a handful of his heroes.
Obviously, the main attraction here was the man and the music that he himself made famous. He throws off “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” like it’s simply breathing. “Still Is Still Moving To Me” is still…well…moving to me. What can I say? The highlight of the night came when he did his most recent smash duet “Beer For My Horses” and reclaimed it from the Nashville gloss of the recording he did with Toby Keith. I don’t know about you but I think it’s a lame song and a terrible recording. Tonight, with Willie’s spin – it was gloriously ragged and familiar. The strangest moment occurred right at the end of that number when he started the next song… which was also “Beer For My Horses.” Yep. Apparently either Willie’s mind is starting to feel the effects of all those years of herbal enhancement or he’s following his own desires so strongly that he just wanted to do it again and did. Either way, only someone like Willie could pull that song off…twice! He’s also one of the few that can pull humor out of the corniness of “Kiss This Booty Goodbye.” If he releases this new song as a single, it could easily be his next hit.
