Interlude with Merle
OK, I know I’m supposed to be going on about what it was like to be around punkers and record stores as a 13-year old in 1980, but something really unexpected happened last night.
I went with a group of folks to see Bob Dylan at the Paramount in Oakland. I wasn’t so into Bob. He had this stomping Texas swing blues band thing going on that made every song sound like “Highway 61 Revisited” played over & over again, sometimes slower, sometimes faster. A fiddle player played through the entirety of every song. And his singing is getting even more eccentric. It was all just a bit much. So after reading & loving Chronicles, it was a bit of a letdown.
That said, the opening act blew me away. Merle Haggard. Yes, I was whisked off my feet by Merle fuckin’ Haggard. Merle had a kick-ass band that took lots of tasteful quick solos, a bunch of perfectly performed songs, and a slew of corny showbiz jokes he’s probably told a zillion times. He is also a fabulous guitar player, and man, I just never knew.
The band also had this fantastic archetypal look, especially the lead guitar player. He had to be abou six-five, a perfect head of slicked-back silver hair, wore a bright red western suit, and switched off on to fiddle & mandolin. They just don’t build them like that anymore.
Another major highlight was Hag’s Merch Shop — complete with branded signage — out in the lobby. A few of the fabu items included:
* 12 different Merle Haggard baseball hats
* A bandana with a portrait of Merle against the flag — “America: Love It or Leave It!”
* A number of different t-shirts, the best featuring the flag, an eagle, and the inscription “Merle Haggard: America’s music”
* A sign reading “Merle Haggard Fan Parking Only: All others will be towed away”
I realize that seeing Merle in downtown Oakland in an art deco theatre opening for “voice of the counter-culture” Bob Dylan isn’t exactly a pinnacle authentic Merle experience. If he comes ’round to a county fair on a weekend, I might just have to get in the car, grab a 12-pack and go for it. I’ll probably get the tar kicked out of me.
Do I really have to go seek out Merle Haggard records now? Please, no…
The Washington Post gave a RAVE review to his son’s new album – Shooter Haggard is apparently a failed rock and roller who has come back to his roots in country.
Gosh, how embarassing – Shooter Jennings is Waylon Jennings son not Merle Haggard’s son. As you can tell, I’m no student of country music.