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Author Topic: Best shows of the year  (Read 1325 times)

1haggard

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Best shows of the year
« on: December 23, 2010, 01:43:46 pm »
Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.

Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center.


Show: Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center
Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010
Background: Merle had to reschedule this show after a health scare -- he had lung cancer that's in remission -- but it was worth the wait. Somehow, The Hag managed to cram plenty of his old hits and a few gems from his excellent new record, I Am What I Am, into only an hour or so.
Why is stood out: There were a lot of great country shows this year -- George Strait's night at US Airways springs immediately to mind -- but this one separates from the pack because it really felt like a special, fleeting moment. Hopefully, The Hag spins around the country a bunch of times in the coming years but given that he's lived a rough 73 years and many of his contemporaries have passed on, I'm very glad I got the chance to see him perform.
Someone else said: "The documentary, Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself, portrays a man trying to come to terms with a life that took him from a train-hopping delinquent to an ex-con to a country music superstar, thanks to hits like "Mama Tried" and "Okie from Muskogee." Haggard has always been a deeply personal songwriter, re-working the major events of his life -- his father's early death, his hardscrabble childhood, the years he spent in San Quentin -- again and again in his songs. And in the PBS film he's surprisingly emotional -- more tortured poet than rabble-rousing tough guy." -The Wall Street Journal on the Haggard documentary that came out around the same time as the show.
Scott
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Re: Best shows of the year
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2010, 09:24:43 pm »
Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.

Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center.


Show: Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center
Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010
Background: Merle had to reschedule this show after a health scare -- he had lung cancer that's in remission -- but it was worth the wait. Somehow, The Hag managed to cram plenty of his old hits and a few gems from his excellent new record, I Am What I Am, into only an hour or so.
Why is stood out: There were a lot of great country shows this year -- George Strait's night at US Airways springs immediately to mind -- but this one separates from the pack because it really felt like a special, fleeting moment. Hopefully, The Hag spins around the country a bunch of times in the coming years but given that he's lived a rough 73 years and many of his contemporaries have passed on, I'm very glad I got the chance to see him perform.
Someone else said: "The documentary, Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself, portrays a man trying to come to terms with a life that took him from a train-hopping delinquent to an ex-con to a country music superstar, thanks to hits like "Mama Tried" and "Okie from Muskogee." Haggard has always been a deeply personal songwriter, re-working the major events of his life -- his father's early death, his hardscrabble childhood, the years he spent in San Quentin -- again and again in his songs. And in the PBS film he's surprisingly emotional -- more tortured poet than rabble-rousing tough guy." -The Wall Street Journal on the Haggard documentary that came out around the same time as the show.
Merle sure desreves to be on the top 10...I would class him #1..Thanks for posting this Scott! Good article!!
Jones & Haggard!!

1haggard

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Re: Best shows of the year
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2010, 11:18:25 am »
I have been to many many Hag shows over many years and have never been disappointed and always surprised at a song that he may do that I have never heard him sing live, or maybe one not done for many years. Always something different along with many of the classics you expect to hear !
Scott
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Re: Best shows of the year
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2010, 05:57:49 pm »
I have been to many many Hag shows over many years and have never been disappointed and always surprised at a song that he may do that I have never heard him sing live, or maybe one not done for many years. Always something different along with many of the classics you expect to hear !
Yep, I was very glad to hear him do "Daddy Frank" at my show.
Jones & Haggard!!