http://13thfloor.co.nz/reviews/conce...april-30-2014/
Kris Kristofferson – Civic Theatre April 30, 2014
We’ve been privileged to witness a parade of brilliant songwriters over the past few weeks here in Auckland…Jason Isbell, Don Walker, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle…but as Kris Kristofferson proved last night, there are songwriters and there are songwriters. Kris kicked off his 7-city tour of New Zealand with a 36-songs set that included some of the best tunes written in the last 50 years.
Armed with just his guitar and harmonica, the 77-year-old troubadour strode out on to the stage promptly at 8pm and began the evening with the Dylanesque Shipwrecked In The Eighties. Kristofferson’s voice was stronger than I expected it to be. It has certainly weathered over time, but his character and emotion still come through.
Although he cherry-picked from his entire career, Kris obviously holds a soft spot for his earlier material (as do his fans) and he eventually played all but one tune from his 1970 debut album, beginning with Darby’s Castle and a surprisingly early Me & Bobby McGee, in which he threw in a sly reference to Janis Joplin.
Being such a master storyteller in his songs, I expected Kristofferson to be one of those performers who breaks between songs to tell long, rambling stories about his life and his work. That was not the case.
Incredibly, Kris seems to be struck by a certain amount of stage fright, and he often punctuated his songs with a quick, “thank you” and then immediately started up the next gem.
When he did speak he was self-effacing and charming. At the end of Best Of All Possible Worlds he paused and commented that he could never scat the way Roger Miller did when he recorded the song and so ended it with a broad smile instead.
During Sam’s Song, he forgot a line (not surprising considering how many lyrics he got through during the evening), quickly recovered and then noted it was his buddy Willie Nelson’s birthday.
Many of Kristofferson’s songs have become standards, but even after hearing hundreds of times over the years, tunes like Loving Her Is Easier and For The Good Times still retain their power.
For me, the high points were hearing lesser-known, but equally heart-rending tunes like Daddy’s Song and Nobody Wins, songs that were borne out of Kristofferson’s own personal experiences.
The evening was divided into two sets.
Halfway through the second set, Kris was joined on stage by his daughter Kelly, who along with her banjo and beaming smile, added harmonies to a handful of songs including Between Heaven And Here and The Pilgrim, Chapter 33. Needless to say, they sounded beautiful together.
Kris closed out the evening with a trio of classics…Sunday Morning Coming Down, The Silver Tongued Devil And I and For The Good Times.
And With his 78th birthday just a month or so away, songs like A Moment Of Forever and Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends seemed even more poignant.
Chances are, this will be the last opportunity to see Kris Kristofferson perform in New Zealand…don’t miss it.
Marty Duda
Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Flynn: