It is a short list of performers who at 70 years old can command a stage for two sets and 30 songs without a backing band, as Kris Kristofferson did at The Pabst Theater on Tuesday night. Then again Kristofferson was never average at anything.
The one-time Rhodes Scholar turned army helicopter pilot has long been one of popular music’s elite songwriters. Kristofferson’s tunes were hit records for the likes of Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin and Ray Price, yet he remains something of a cult artist, seemingly never quite comfortable as a performer. In fact much of his visibility comes from the many movie roles he as taken over his career.
But Tuesday evening at The Pabst was no act. It was the singer, a Gibson guitar and harmonica and, most importantly, his songs.
Opening with "Shipwrecked in the Eighties" Kristofferson’s rustic voice and stark finger-picking was all he required to perform songs that have become part of pop music vernacular.
"Me and Bobby McGee" downshifted Joplin’s bluesy wail to a lament of regret. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" elicited a murmured audience sing-along.
"For The Good Times" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night" both were performed in bare bones versions compared to the Nashville hits by Price and Sammi Smith.
Now to even the casual listener those four songs would constitute a great career. But Kristofferson is nothing if not restless. In fact he is promoting “This Old Road,” his 21st album.
Playing songs typified by character-driven vignettes like "The Pilgrim Chapter 33," "Loving Her Was Easier" and "Jody and The Kid," he also drew on political leaning tunes and morality tales "Jesus Was a Capricorn," "Don’t Let the Bastards Get you Down" and "Nobody Wins" (in which he commented "kind of like an election we just had”).
The third stage of his songs point to the sense of gratitude that comes with a hard-earned contentedness he alluded to on "A Moment of Forever."
And with "Final Attraction" he recalled a Willie Nelson gig where the performer and audience transcended expectations.
Over the years Kristofferson’s band has included ace sidemen like Donnie Fritts, Billy Swann and Stephen Bruton.. All tasteful players who add to what the song requires. But by playing a concert solo Kristofferson choose to lay the tunes bare and let the listener experience the marrow of the songs.
The one-time Rhodes Scholar turned army helicopter pilot has long been one of popular music’s elite songwriters. Kristofferson’s tunes were hit records for the likes of Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin and Ray Price, yet he remains something of a cult artist, seemingly never quite comfortable as a performer. In fact much of his visibility comes from the many movie roles he as taken over his career.
But Tuesday evening at The Pabst was no act. It was the singer, a Gibson guitar and harmonica and, most importantly, his songs.
Opening with "Shipwrecked in the Eighties" Kristofferson’s rustic voice and stark finger-picking was all he required to perform songs that have become part of pop music vernacular.
"Me and Bobby McGee" downshifted Joplin’s bluesy wail to a lament of regret. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" elicited a murmured audience sing-along.
"For The Good Times" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night" both were performed in bare bones versions compared to the Nashville hits by Price and Sammi Smith.
Now to even the casual listener those four songs would constitute a great career. But Kristofferson is nothing if not restless. In fact he is promoting “This Old Road,” his 21st album.
Playing songs typified by character-driven vignettes like "The Pilgrim Chapter 33," "Loving Her Was Easier" and "Jody and The Kid," he also drew on political leaning tunes and morality tales "Jesus Was a Capricorn," "Don’t Let the Bastards Get you Down" and "Nobody Wins" (in which he commented "kind of like an election we just had”).
The third stage of his songs point to the sense of gratitude that comes with a hard-earned contentedness he alluded to on "A Moment of Forever."
And with "Final Attraction" he recalled a Willie Nelson gig where the performer and audience transcended expectations.
Over the years Kristofferson’s band has included ace sidemen like Donnie Fritts, Billy Swann and Stephen Bruton.. All tasteful players who add to what the song requires. But by playing a concert solo Kristofferson choose to lay the tunes bare and let the listener experience the marrow of the songs.
