Waco City DJs on AccessWaco
Be sure to check out AccessWaco.com to read my interview with the Waco City DJs. While you’re there, check the other entertainment news items and entertainment blogs run by the WacoTrib staff.
I also wanted to publicly thank commenter Mary for posting the schedule for posting the Zack and Jim’s Hog Creek Icehouse schedule. Thanks for reading, Mary.
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Home > WacoLive > Archives > 2008 > March > 15 > Entry
Worth. Every. Penny.
SLIDE SHOW
- gallery: Willie's Waco concert
I managed to forget the whole first chapter of Rookie Mistakes for Music Journalists on the way to see Willie Nelson on Thursday and left my notepad and pen and home.
So these are my re-created memories of the evening.
Let me first say that Willie Nelson was everything that Bob Dylan isn’t. I saw Dylan last summer at Austin City Limits and the event still stands out in my mind as one of the biggest let-downs (and most depressing concerts) I’ve ever seen. Dylan is a shell of his former self: his already-shaky voice was cracked and strained; his guitar playing, passable; his stage presence, nil.
Willie on the other hand, took the stage like the consummate pro his is. His voice was strong and clear and his fret work — oh, can that man play the guitar. With the opening notes of “Whiskey River” ringing through the HOT Coliseum (hats off, by the way, to the sound crews for rightly putting Willie’s voice and guitar at the front of the mix — the Coliseum is essentially a giant metal box and has some of THE WORST acoustics in Waco) Willie and his band launched into a set that tore through all of the favorites with a few surprises in between. Medleys, extended jams, off-the-cuff banter and production — Willie and co. put on a show that should have every musician ANYWHERE taking notes.
It must be hard to play behind Willie; between his syncopated vocal delivery and quirky guitar phrasing, even battle-hardened vets like Paul English (Willie’s long-time drummer and the Paul of “Me and Paul”) looked like they were having a hard time — and a blast — keeping up with Willie’s iconic, truncated expressionism. A true shaman on stage, Willie knows how to lead a band. So when his band let their hair down (so to speak) to jam, Willie let them. He knows when to let a song breathe and when to clip its feathers.
Let me say, here and now, that Willie is about as good as it gets. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT MISS the next concert he throws. Go out of your way. Take the kids (they’ll thank you later, even if they don’t get it now.) Spend the money.
One gripe: BOO to the sheriff’s deputy who kept coming over and shush-ing some of the tipsy, middle-aged women dancing in the aisles. This is a Willie Nelson concert, for crying out loud, not the symphony. I kept wanting to ask the mustachioed hardass if he even knew who was on stage, much less why he was hassling these women instead of WATCHING THE SHOW, but I held my tongue.
I figured it just left more of the greatness for the rest of us.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Michael
March 17, 2008 6:34 AM | Link to this
Willie is Willie. Never disappoints. Always humble. And you don’t appreciate his musicianship unless you hear him live. Willie is a Texas legend and you have got to hear him once live before he rides off into that proverbial sunset…
By Larry Rochelle
March 17, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
Hey Van, Would you happen to know who provided sound for Willie? It’s rare to hear positive audio reviews from the coliseum.
Thanks, LR
By KH
March 21, 2008 11:44 PM | Link to this
I promised myself to never pay for another show at the coliseum after the horrid, dreadful sound at Kevin Fowler, Aaron Watson, and many others in the past. I am sure I will go back on that promise being as I have not much choice living in Waco for live music venues but I sure hope the sound is better for the next show- Kudos on calling out the worst acoustics in Waco— It is by far the worst— Why not hold shows at the Waco Convention Center, or the Hippodrome, Indian Springs Park, or even the Arts building at the Coliseum? Much better sound in those places! I would sacrifice seating for sound anyday, but thats just the music fan in me talking.