Kristofferson Enchants Audience With Humor And Song At Ford Theater
- If covers are your thing, check out the feature on USA Today where they list/rate quite a few cover albums and pinpoint which cuts from the album are knockouts. Artists by the likes of Confederate Railroad, Raul Malo, Tracy Nelson, and Teddy Thompson try their hand at Billy Joe Shaver, Hank Williams, Roger Miller, Ernest Tubb, Jim Reeves, Dolly Parton, and Merle Haggard originals.
- It’s not often that the New York Times has a story about a country artist (at least from what I read), but Lori McKenna’s Unglamorous was highlighted in their Critic’s Choice feature.
- From the “greatest value concert of all-time” file, Kris Kristofferson performs the second of two free shows tonight at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater. The concert is free with museum admission, but tickets are already “sold out.” Last night, Kristofferson played for two and a half hours in the intimate 213-seat venue. Damn.
- In another review of the same show Bill Friskics-Warren paints the picture of a frail Kristofferson that was still able to conjure up more than one standing ovation throughout the night.
Kris Kristofferson is hardly a crooner, and he barely knows his way around a handful of chords on the guitar. And yet as his intimate, sold-out show at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater on Tuesday confirmed, the man who did more than anyone to bring country songwriting into the modern era sure can hollow the marrow out of the human desire for intimacy and connection.
- Contrasting the frail image of Kristofferson written about by Friskics-Warren is this picture of a younger Kristofferson with Willie, Waylon, and Cash on the cover of an August 1985 issue of Music City News.
- Some guy named Sam Bush will be hosting the International Bluegrass Awards.
- Shoutmouth has put together a list of who they think are the 50 Hottest Women in Music (probably not safe for work). Country artists included are: Miranda Lambert (48), Dixie Chicks (37), Danielle Peck (32), Shania Twain (20), Faith Hill (10), and Carrie Underwood (3).
- Eighteen of Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Thompson’s albums were released digitally yesterday. I say hooray for the digitization of these old albums. I was looking for albums from some Hall of Famers at the record store yesterday and they don’t have anything but hits compilations, and then they have five different versions of those all with the same songs.
- Although I haven’t written much about Drew Kennedy here on The 9513, I can say with some amount of certainty that out of all the new releases this year his Dollar Theater Movie album has gotten the most spins in my truck. It’s to the point where my girlfriend makes fun of me when she gets in and hears his music playing. All that aside, a new blog that I discovered (because the author wrote in and told me about it), The Gobblers Knob, had a Q&A with Kennedy at the end of July.
You have moved around a bit and have written about those moves in your songs. What is it about moving that inspires you to write about your transitions?
You know, it’s funny. I was reading a book about Steve Earle a few years ago, and in it he mentioned that he was always buying new guitars because he felt that he would write the guitar out of songs… as if to say that the songs were stuck in the guitar until he would get them down on paper, but that there was only a finite number of tunes in there. That statement was interesting to me, because I’ve always felt that way about places. There’s something about a new place that inspires me to write at a pace that’s about 4 or 5 times faster than I would in a familiar place… and that lasts for a while. So, with each new move I make, my writing seems to enjoy some sort of revival. It’s like creativity transplant for my brain, or something.
- Pre-order your Last of the Breed: Live In Concert DVD. The official street date is September 25, 2007. (via the web’s chief Willie resource — Still Is Still Moving)
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August 15, 2007 at 9:58 am
I am right there with you on the lack of classic country albums you can find on cd or digital. It is just not the same listening to the big hits over and over. Where are all the classic Del Reeves, Lefty, Dave Dudley ect albums? We all love Buck and Johnny but there are tons of great artist from the 50’60’70′s that are just not issued on cd. It’s a real shame, but then again there is nothing like dropping the needle down….
August 15, 2007 at 11:02 am
Brody, I’m with you on Drew Kennedy. Dollar Theater Movie is a great release that deserves more attention that the 9513 and The Gobblers Knob have provided. Hell, I should get off my butt and review the dang thing!
August 15, 2007 at 11:26 am
Howard – Funny you should mention Lefty, he’s one of the guys I specifically went looking for, along with Tubb and Acuff. I’ve already heard most of the hits, so I wanted to buy an album with lesser known material. It sucks when you can’t find what you want.
Baron – Technically speaking, wouldn’t you actually be on your butt if you were writing the review? Kidding aside, if you like Dollar Theater Movie I’d recommend his Hillbilly Pilgrim EP as well.
August 15, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I saw Kris a couple weeks ago here in Boulder. What a handsome man! I see him at Willie’s picnic, but it was nice to see him in the cozy Boulder theater, just him and his guitar. Folks started lining up at 9:00 that morning, and many had driven in from all over. They guy I sat by was from California. (Well, I guess I fly to see Willie.) It was an amazing set, and the audience loved him. Such familiar songs.
August 15, 2007 at 9:09 pm
The McKenna album is pretty decent. Not her best work, but still one of the better albums I’ve heard so far this year.
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