Merle and Kris

[Dave Harmonson]

Saw Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson last night. Fisrt up, it was a disappointment to not see Norm there. I was a bit surprised about that since I had read posts recently about Norm still out there on the road with Hag. That being said it was still a wonderful show. I had expected Kristofferson would be opening followed by Merle, but Kris came out first, played one song and then introduced Merle and the Strangers and they played the entire show together. It was played at a very low volume level with Biff Adams playing just a snare with brushes. Merle's 16 year old son was playing a Tele and played great. I was truly impressed with this young man. He played tastefully and could rip it up when it was called for. Merle played an aooustic for the whole show and had a great sound and played some very tasteful leads as well as very solid rhythm. There was another player whose name I didn't catch who played acoustic, fiddle and back-up vocals and sounde great as well. I believe Kevin Williams was playing bass. He was on a stand up electric. Merle and Kris traded off songs both being backed by the Strangers. Kris' voice was never his strong point and it's gotten rougher over the years, but he has a presence about him, that for me anyway, draws me in. Merle doesn't sing like he did when he was 30, but he could still make it happen. They played for a long time, about 2 hours and were relaxed and having fun with the packed house. You could see that Merle and Kris both had mutual respect for each other and were enjoying themselves. I went home with a smile. Still would have liked to see Norm, though.

[Ellis Miller]

Sounds like a show I would pay to see.

Kristofferson went to Nashville to write songs and was more or less drug kicking and screaming into the role of recording artist. He recognized his limitations and did not really want to be a singer. He was one of the most influential song writers of the 20th century and one of my songwriting heroes.

Hag is Hag - all I need to say on that subject.

[Clyde Mattocks]

Dave, the fiddle player was probably Scott Joss, who
has been with Merle for a while now. He was formerly with Dwight Yoakam and appeared in some of his videos.