Meanwhile our long-time FH Buddy Steve Sarley WAS able to attend the Leon Russell show ... and as a lifetime fan of Russell's we couldn't have picked a better suited guy to handle this review.
Take it away, Steve! (kk)
I’ve been a
huge Leon Russell fan since 1968 when he released his first Asylum Choir album
with Marc Benno. I’ve followed him closely since then and must admit that he is
at the very top of my list of favorite musical performers. Being able to see
“The Master of Space and Time” perform live at the Arcada Theatre this past
Friday night was something I really looked forward to. I’ve seen
Russell play in concert a few times in the past, both as a solo act and also as
the bandleader for Joe Cocker on the legendary Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.
The last
Time I saw Leon was in 1999 at Lisle’s Eyes to the Skies Festival. He played
for 90 minutes and didn’t take any break between songs. It was if he played one,
long, hour-and-a-half medley. Of course, he didn’t even speak a word during the
entire show. The music was great, but the performance was not what you want
when you go to a concert.
After the
show, he autographed merchandise that the crowd purchased but he did it in his
trailer. His son took the merchandise from the fans and walked it back to Leon
who sat in the dark on the bus. He didn’t shake a hand or say a word to anyone.
I learned
that Leon is a total loner who may possibly suffer from some kind of issue with
personal contact. The only way to interview Leon is to send him your questions
via fax and he will return his answers in the same manner. Weird, huh?
That said,
I just had to see Russell in concert one more time. The legend is 73-years old
and had major brain surgery in 2010 and also suffered heart failure the same
year.
Ron Onesti
was not in attendance at his Arcada Theatre because he was busy emceeing the
big PBS Chicago Legends taping. I hate to admit it, but Onesti’s absence was
missed. The guy is so damned likeable, the short time he spends on stage
talking to the audience at his shows is almost like being entertained by an
extra opening act.
The real opening
act was a man named Riley Etheridge, Jr. He plays the acoustic guitar and has a
very pleasing vocal style. He was accompanied by a bass player, a fiddle player
and a mandolinist. I’m a sucker for mandolin and fiddle, so Etheridge went over
big with me, even though I am not a huge fan of the folk genre that his music
mostly fell into.
His set ran
about 35 minutes and all the songs were very good. The New Yorker really
charmed the crowd and even got away with making the mistake of declaring
himself to be a New York Mets fan.
During the
short intermission, it was hard to miss the fact that Russell’s stage set-up
included a big digital grand piano. The last time I saw Leon, he played on a
tiny electric keyboard. When he recorded his album with Elton John, “The
Union,” Elton made Leon Russell promise to never play the electric piano again.
He felt that Leon’s fans deserved to hear his music on a traditional
instrument. I guess that Leon keeps his promises.
After a
short break, Russell and his band walked onto the stage. Russell uses a cane
and moves incredibly slowly. He is not a tall man, but is towering in his white
straw Stetson hat. His frame is quite wide. He wore a charcoal gray suit and a
pair of dress loafers with a blue Hawaiian-type shirt. You had to realize that
this was going to be a different kind of Russell concert because Leon wasn’t
wearing his signature aviator sunglasses. I can’t remember the last time I was
able to actually see the man’s eyes.
He sat down
at his piano and did a rousing version of Ray Charles’, “I Got a Woman.” It
sounded great but I was totally blown away at the conclusion when Leon turned
to the audience and related an anecdote about meeting Elvis Presley at the MGM
in Las Vegas.
He said he
had been invited backstage by his fried, James Burton who was Elvis’s guitar
player. Upon the introduction, Russell said to the King, “Hello, Elvis. I’m
Leon. How the hell did they talk you into making all of those bad movies,
anyway?”
I was
stunned to hear Leon talking conversationally and telling such an amazing tale.
It was the first of the night and it wasn’t to be the last. He talked about
making friends with Bob Dylan at The Concert for Bangladesh, recording with
B.B. King, how he chose to change his name to Leon Russell from Russell Bridges
and a number of other incredible tales. He said that he knew his first marriage
was headed for divorce when his then-wife told him, “You know, if your fans
knew you as well as I do, they wouldn’t like you either!” Leon was absolutely
charming and his stories were mesmerizing.
His band
consisted of, Jack Wessell, his bass player and background vocalist for the
last 33 years, drummer Brandon Holder and Beau Charron on guitars, pedal steel,
mandolin and organ. All three sidemen were extremely polished at their crafts.
Russell
played and talked for a little over an hour-and-a-half. The time flew by. Some people consider Russell’s voice to be an acquired
taste, but I’ve always loved its uniqueness. At the Arcada his voice was quite
strong and actually better than I had heard it in a long time. He mixed his
hits with covers of songs that he really likes. He worked some of his classics
into versions with new tempos and arrangements that made them sound fresh.
His set
list was:
“I’ve Got a
Woman”
“Prince of
Peace”
“Out in the
Woods”
“Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms”
“Stranger
in a Strange Land”
“Let the
Good Times Roll”
“Dixie
Lullaby”
“Back to
the Island”
Bob Dylan’s
“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”
Ivory Joe
Hunter’s “Kansas City Woman”
“Wild
Horses”
“Georgia on
My Mind”
The
Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face”
“Hummingbird”
“Tight
Rope”
“Delta
Lady”
“The Ballad
of Mad Dogs and Englishmen”
Gospel
legend Andrae Crouch’s “He’s Watching Me”
“A Song for
You”
“Jumping
Jack Flash”
“Papa Was a
Rolling Stone”
“Kansas
City”
Leon stood
up after that and waited for the applause to stop. He said, “You know, this is
the part where we walk off the stage and then act surprised that you keep
clapping. Then we turn around and come back out and play a song to finish the
show. Those of you that know me know that I’m not very big on walking. So,
let’s just pretend we walked off and walked back on again. He sat down and finished
with a rousing rendition of “Roll Over Beethoven.”
On his way
off the stage, Russell waved to the adoring audience and the stoic genius
actually beamed a huge smile, something that is a Leon Russell rarity, to be
sure.
I must
report that I haven’t been this pleased to see a show in many, many years and I
can’t wait for Leon to come back again. Leon Russell’s show was first rate and
I recommend it very highly.
-- Steve Sarley
-- Steve Sarley
P.S. I had to laugh at the end of Leon's
show.
He walked off the stage and the lights came
up.
The sound system started playing one of my
favorite Stevie Wonder songs.
I thought of you guys and hoped you had a
good time.
Actually we had a GREAT time ... watch for our review tomorrow!!! (kk)
