Golden Oldies

My apologies for not posting a little more frequently, it has been a busy few weeks.

So the last few weeks have been great for live music enthusiasts in St. John's. I had the privilege of seeing both Kris Kristofferson and Neil Young in recent weeks, two people who I never thought I would have the pleasure of seeing live. Both legends in their own right and both lived up to every expectation.

I have to say that I was a little pessimistic going in having been disappointed by the Bob Dylan show last year. Bob is also a legend I thought I would never get to see and having attended that show last year the fact that I can scratch it off my bucket list is about the only reward anyone at the show received. I went in expecting to be disappointed, knowing that he would do mostly new stuff with very few old favorites, and even those so heavily modified that they are barely recognizable; that is exactly what I got. Just being in the same room as the man was worth the ticket price and I will defend my decision to attend that show to the death.

Kris Kristofferson was similar to the Dylan show in that he is clearly a folk legend past his prime. The difference between Kris and Dylan is that Kris made no bones about it. According to emcee, Paul Raynes, he wanted no long winded introduction despite his many accomplishments and took the stage unceremoniously. The next 2 hours were among the best spent at any musical performance. Kris was truly humbled by the reception he received from the near sold out crowd at Mile One Center and played from the heart the whole time. Despite forgetting a large portion of the lyrics, singing the first minute or so of most songs before thanking the crowd and taking a sip of his Gatorade, the show was fantastically intimate. For a man who has written, arguably, thousands of songs in his lifetime and is still touring into his senior years, forgetting a few lyrics is forgivable. The experience will never be forgotten. Kristofferson connected with the 3000+ fans in attendance as if it were a small club venue; fantastic!

Neil Young was incredible for all the right reasons. I cannot say enough about the show! He mixed perfectly the old with the new and played a great cross section of tunes from his new album despite the official launch coming a day later in St. John's. His new album smacks of the same social action he has become known for since the Buffalo Springfield days. The stage was decorated beautifully reminiscent of a garage jam space with two 20ft screens suspended on either side streaming a fully produced live video of the performance. Again, for a man who has toured his ass off for over 25 years, he can still rock harder than most bands playing the festival circuit today. I truly felt throughout the entire show as if I were watching a living legend who hasn't aged a day since the 70's; another experience i shall not soon forget.

Here's hoping that Mile One Center continues to draw names like these in the future. Newfoundlanders have now proven it is economically feasible and that people will pay the money for an act that is worth it. Hats off to St. John's Sports and Entertainment and Unicorn Promotions and Sonic Concerts for the Kristofferson and Young shows, respectively.