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| Photo not taken at gig |
With the years advancing, many country music fans have
grasped the opportunity to catch the legendary performer Kris Kristofferson on
this rare visit to the UK. Although he is now in his 77th year, the
evidence of this sold out show at the elegant Birmingham Town Hall suggests
there is still plenty left in the tank. Accompanied only by a single guitar,
and being briefly joined on stage by his banjo playing daughter Kelly, the
singer-songwriter/actor/legend gave a relentless performance of virtually
non-stop hits that captivated an audience determined to savour every moment.
The voice may be a little worn but then again that was never
one of Kristofferson’s major attributes and probably why so many of his songs
were taken to greater heights by others. The guitar playing was a little
inconsequential and a mere side dish to the performance but then again much of
country music is constructed around the infamous ‘three chords’. However it is
that third element of a singer-songwriter -the song - that has elevated
Kristofferson into the stratosphere of not just country music but to the
industry in general.
The chiselled Texas-born performer, who made his name in
Tennessee before being embraced by the movie moguls of California, cuts an
impressive figure on stage and despite being afflicted by the perennial cold
that always seems prevalent in travelling US artists, delivered a brace of 45
minute sets that satisfied the cravings of his loyal fan base. For an artist
with a lifetime of industry tales to tell, there was surprisingly little banter
from Kristofferson. Only a couple of the many songs sung were introduced but the
repeated outbreaks of applause during the first few lines for most of them
suggested the audience needed little introduction.
Highlights of the first set included performances of two of
his most famous songs which had considerable crossover success – ‘Me and Bobby Gee’ and ‘Help Me
Make it Through the Night’. Also from his vast back catalogue came ‘Here Comes That Rainbow Again’ and ‘Casey’s Last Ride’. ‘Nobody Wins’ saw a brief comment applauding Obama’s recent
election victory while two other notable inclusions in the opening part were ‘El Coyote (the Lonesome Coyote survives)’ and ‘Johnny
Lobo’.
It was very much the same after the break except for the
short period when he was joined on stage by his young daughter, Kelly. They
sang a handful of duet numbers with the most memorable being ‘The Pilgrim Chapter 33’. Kelly’s banjo
playing enhanced the tunes performed and while the harmonies were not exactly
top drawer, you could forgive this brief moment of family indulgence. Either
side of Kelly’s appearance, the hits continued to roll including ‘Jody and the Kid’, ‘Silver Tongued Devil and I’ and ‘Billy Dee’. Increased crowd appreciation
was in evidence for another of his most popular songs ‘For the Good Times’ and the one which eventually brought the
evening to a close ‘Why Me’.
However for me, seeing Kristofferson live for the first
time, the evening was all about one song. I had always considered the Johnny
Cash version of ‘Sunday Morning Coming
Down’ to be the best but the pleasure of listening to Kris Kristofferson
deliver his most famous composition live was a pure humbling experience. It
ranks easily amongst the very best live songs enjoyed in person and rounded off
an evening that in reality may not be witnessed again.www.kriskristofferson.com
Sunday Morning Coming Down