Willie Nelson & Family - Walt Disney Concert Hall - 3/13/12
Christina Limson O'Connell
Willie Nelson & Family
Walt Disney Concert Hall
3/13/12
Better than ...trying to find a place to stay in Austin this weekend.
Last night, before a sold-out crowd at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, country legend Willie Nelson dipped into a fifty-year catalog of hits, backed by his son Lukas, his sister Bobbie and a stripped down band of thumpers. Despite being in his late 70s, Nelson played and sang tirelessly for over an hour and a half.
The evening opened with a brief set by his son Lukas with a six-piece band. The moment he began to sing there was immediate recognition from the crowd; he was clearly his father's son. The band stuck to a handful of rocking tunes with Lukas taking scorching electric guitar solos that also hinted at his lineage. The band closed with a strutting cover of Neil Young's "Homegrown" and were off the stage in less than a half an hour.
With nearly five minutes between the house lights being turned off and Willie Nelson's arrival on stage the crowd worked itself into a frenzy, shouting "Willie!" and clapping in unison to draw the legend from behind the double doors. When he finally appeared the audience gave him a standing ovation.
Nelson's six-piece band opened with "Whiskey River," finding their pace behind Nelson's clipped phrasing. Keeping with the booze theme, Nelson then launched into a driving "Beer for My Horses," which elicited a sing-along from some of the audience. A couple of large men in the corner fist-pumped throughout the set. It was nice of management not to harsh their mellow.
Maybe because he has so many great musical talents, Nelson's guitar playing is often overlooked. With his battered acoustic guitar named Trigger strapped to his body, Nelson took a fair amount of solos, downright shredding on "Night Life" while taking a beautiful lilting solo on an instrumental Django Reinhardt tune, "Nuages." His punctual nylon notes were at the very front of the sound mix.
Christina Limson O'Connell
For "Me and Paul," Nelson brought out one of two drummers, Paul English, to play along to his upbeat travelogue of hazy mishaps. Both drummers (brother Billy English was the other) spent the evening playing a drum kit that consisted of one snare drum and a bag of sticks and brushes. Both drummers did a fine job of driving the band, drawing the essence of percussion from the top of one small drum.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
