I saw Merle and Kris last night at the Wells Fargo Arts Center, just north of Santa Rosa (10 minutes from Alembic). Great venue. We had 8th row center seats. Originally it was to be just the two of them on acoustic, but Merle apparently chickened out and brought the Strangers with him. Merle played acoustic as did Kris. The drummer played a snare only and with brushes. Merle's son on a Tele, an electric 5 string bass played by a guy who was the spitting image of a young Bob Dylan, another guy doubling on acoustic guitar and fiddle, and Merle's other son at the side of the stage running the teleprompter for Merle, rounded out the band. Kris played his stuff solo on acoustic and harmonica. By the second verse of most of Kris' songs, Merle and the Strangers picked it up and started playing quietly in the background. When they did a Merle song, the band played as Kris also played a little and threw in some harmonies. Merle was amazing. He said he had never done anything like this before and that he felt like an old stripper without her G-string. They played many classic tunes, I was especially impressed by Merle's guitar playing. I never realized what an accomplished picker he really is. Very tasty leads. A very intimate show with a lot of banter back and forth with the audience, including playing several shouted out requests. If you see them coming to a town near you, I'd highly recommend going.
Bill, tgo
(Message edited by lbpesq on April 02, 2009)
