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charlene · 03-28-2006, 06:57 PM

Toronto star review:
Essence of Kristofferson
Famed songwriter strips off artifice

Audience forgives his aging voice
Mar. 28, 2006. 01:00 AM
GREG QUILL
ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST

"At this rate, he'll have gone through 50 songs in less than two hours," a young fan confided to his friends during a 15-minute break in veteran American country-folk songwriter Kris Kristofferson's epic solo performance Sunday night.

The observation was on the money. Kristofferson, before a sellout crowd of 1,700 at Convocation Hall, the University of Toronto's intimate theatre-in-the-round, was so eager to touch on every important piece of his enormous repertoire that he barely acknowledged the audience during the first half of the show. He shifted at a relentless pace from one song to the next, rarely even bothering with minimal instrumental segues.

In his 70th year, and the same lanky Texas troubadour he always was, a craggier, still handsome Kristofferson seemed compelled to sum up his spectacularly long run as one of Nashville's most revered — and most highly compensated — composers, but without pomp and circumstance, and with nothing but the simplest possessions: an acoustic guitar, a gift for gentle and wise verse, three chords, and a voice now so frail and windless that it can barely carry a tune.

That was a brave and dangerous thing to do. Having stripped his songs down to the essentials — just the words and a semblance of the rustic melodies that accompanied them at their conception — Kristofferson made himself acutely vulnerable, unashamedly naked.

Never a great musician — his level of proficiency on his chosen instrument after 50 years in the business is jaw-droppingly poor — and handicapped by a persistent tuning problem in the first hour that he seemed loath to correct, he nevertheless managed to pull off a performance that was a victory for substance over style, and a warm and affirming tribute to the pure power of song.

All his classics bobbed up, some for an obligatory nod, others for more hearty exposition. Any fan would have been exceptionally mean to feel cheated by a concert that included the likes of "Darby's Castle," "Me And Bobby McGee," The Best Of All Possible Worlds" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night," even if the songs were denied the benefits of instrumental embellishment or any attempt at arrangement, save some pathetic wailing on brace harmonica that the singer himself finally abandoned as unworthy.

And where his voice faltered, the audience — an exceptionally diverse bunch, ranging from teenagers to grandparents — was quick to add folksy texture, singing quietly along or humming melodies to reinforce Kristofferson's gallant effort, and howling their approval at the start and end of every piece.

Much more comfortable in the second half, thanks no doubt to a guitar that had been tuned at intermission, the singer responded more expansively to the warmth of his welcome, urging Canadians not to "worry about your crazy neighbours to the south" or about their president, "a hood ornament on a machine run by ideologues."

Cutting short a haphazard attempt at evoking a rock groove in "The Show Goes On," from his latest, critically acclaimed CD, Kristofferson dedicated the song to his old friend, rocker Ronnie Hawkins, who was in the audience with his family.

Most of the new stuff — also the most perceptive, confessional and acidic material he has ever written — was left till last, and it served as a reminder that age is no impediment to great art, intelligence or rebellion. "Chase The Feeling," "This Old Road," "The Last Thing To Go" and "Final Attraction" burn with wit, imagination, hope and humanity, even as they convey discomforting sensations of rage, anger and regret.

Denied the artifice that made them enduring favourites in countless recordings by others over the decades, Kristofferson's stark, inclusive songs revealed their remarkably strong bones on Sunday night. Long may they be sung.

03-28-2006, 06:57 PM	#7
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,001	Toronto star review: Essence of Kristofferson Famed songwriter strips off artifice Audience forgives his aging voice Mar. 28, 2006. 01:00 AM GREG QUILL ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST "At this rate, he'll have gone through 50 songs in less than two hours," a young fan confided to his friends during a 15-minute break in veteran American country-folk songwriter Kris Kristofferson's epic solo performance Sunday night. The observation was on the money. Kristofferson, before a sellout crowd of 1,700 at Convocation Hall, the University of Toronto's intimate theatre-in-the-round, was so eager to touch on every important piece of his enormous repertoire that he barely acknowledged the audience during the first half of the show. He shifted at a relentless pace from one song to the next, rarely even bothering with minimal instrumental segues. In his 70th year, and the same lanky Texas troubadour he always was, a craggier, still handsome Kristofferson seemed compelled to sum up his spectacularly long run as one of Nashville's most revered — and most highly compensated — composers, but without pomp and circumstance, and with nothing but the simplest possessions: an acoustic guitar, a gift for gentle and wise verse, three chords, and a voice now so frail and windless that it can barely carry a tune. That was a brave and dangerous thing to do. Having stripped his songs down to the essentials — just the words and a semblance of the rustic melodies that accompanied them at their conception — Kristofferson made himself acutely vulnerable, unashamedly naked. Never a great musician — his level of proficiency on his chosen instrument after 50 years in the business is jaw-droppingly poor — and handicapped by a persistent tuning problem in the first hour that he seemed loath to correct, he nevertheless managed to pull off a performance that was a victory for substance over style, and a warm and affirming tribute to the pure power of song. All his classics bobbed up, some for an obligatory nod, others for more hearty exposition. Any fan would have been exceptionally mean to feel cheated by a concert that included the likes of "Darby's Castle," "Me And Bobby McGee," The Best Of All Possible Worlds" and "Help Me Make It Through The Night," even if the songs were denied the benefits of instrumental embellishment or any attempt at arrangement, save some pathetic wailing on brace harmonica that the singer himself finally abandoned as unworthy. And where his voice faltered, the audience — an exceptionally diverse bunch, ranging from teenagers to grandparents — was quick to add folksy texture, singing quietly along or humming melodies to reinforce Kristofferson's gallant effort, and howling their approval at the start and end of every piece. Much more comfortable in the second half, thanks no doubt to a guitar that had been tuned at intermission, the singer responded more expansively to the warmth of his welcome, urging Canadians not to "worry about your crazy neighbours to the south" or about their president, "a hood ornament on a machine run by ideologues." Cutting short a haphazard attempt at evoking a rock groove in "The Show Goes On," from his latest, critically acclaimed CD, Kristofferson dedicated the song to his old friend, rocker Ronnie Hawkins, who was in the audience with his family. Most of the new stuff — also the most perceptive, confessional and acidic material he has ever written — was left till last, and it served as a reminder that age is no impediment to great art, intelligence or rebellion. "Chase The Feeling," "This Old Road," "The Last Thing To Go" and "Final Attraction" burn with wit, imagination, hope and humanity, even as they convey discomforting sensations of rage, anger and regret. Denied the artifice that made them enduring favourites in countless recordings by others over the decades, Kristofferson's stark, inclusive songs revealed their remarkably strong bones on Sunday night. Long may they be sung.