Arlo returned to the Paramount for the first time in many years. He took the stage wearing all black and opened with an incredible version of Chilling of the Evening. He was joined by his son Abe on keyboard and an amazing musician named Gordon Titcomb on pedal steel,dobro, and accoustic guitar, as well as mandolin. Sarah had another concert scheduled was not there this night. Arlo's wit, voice and wonderful storytelling were in fine form. For many, it was an enjoyable evening of historical folk music. He told several stories about his legendary dad and his dad's equally legendary musician friends like Cisco Houston, Jack Elliott and Pete Seeger. He then sang two of his dad's great songs, Gypsy Davy and Dead or Alive(Poor Lazarus). There were plenty of Arlo classics as well. The Motorcycle' Pickle song was neatly interupted by Arlo to tell an amusing story about the song and its role in his career. Coming into Los Angeles was preceded by a great story about Woodstock and how little he actually remembered being there, those times being what they were, a wonderfully funny story. He performed a poignant version of When A Soldier Makes it Home. City of New Orleans as always sparked a sing a long. He told a story about Bob Dylan visiting his dad in 1961 in the hospital, which led into a funny story about when he and Dylan were playing at different venues in Tuscon AZ on the same night. The main set ended with his dad's classic This Land is Your Land which he interupted to tell how his dad taught him the chords when he was 6 years old and taught him the "missing verses" neatly edited out of the school songbooks. Arlo almost always includes one or two of the missing verses, so does Pete Seeger when he performs it. The song was really his dad's sarcastic answer to Irving Berlin who had just written God Bless America. Written during the Depression, the missing verses talk about hungry people in bread lines, the hoarding of private property and the erosion of freedom.Apparantly an early version of it was called Is This the America God Blessed for Me, before it got its more familiar title. There is a great book on his dad called Woody Guthrie,A Life, by Joe Klein. Also the DVD called A Vision Shared has Arlo, Pete Seeger, Springsteen, John Mellencamp and others performing Woody's songs and those of his musician friend Leadbelly. It also is a wonderful biography of these legendary artists. As encores, he did Highway in the Wind which was one of the best live versions of it I have ever seen him play. Having seen him about 15 times since 1980, including twice at the Newport Folk Festival, this concert was one of the best, in my opinion. He ended the same way he did at Newport 2002 with the Leadbelly classic sing a long Goodnight Irene. In Newport, on a 95 degree day he had 12000 people singing along. On saturday at the Paramount he had some 2500 all singing this beautiful old song. Please whatever you do, do not miss him when this tour comes to your town, it is a wonderful night you won't forget.

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by guido on Jan 30, 2003 ---</FONT></center>

There was a time, in high school, when Arlo Guthrie was my musical hero. I collected his albums, listened repeatedly to his stories in my battery powered Sony Walkman, and drew a worldview postulated by his liberal, hippy values. I have no idea how I became so enamored by this icon of sixties counter-culture – my only guess is that I found him by way of Pete Seeger, the legendary folk singer whom my parents (to my amazement, in hindsight) introduced me to when I was a youngster.

The last time I saw Guthrie in concert was at least 12 years ago, perhaps closer to 15. I went to see him perform a Thanksgiving weekend concert at Boston’s Symphony Hall with my sister Keren, who was killed six years ago by a drunk driver. He played the obligatory “Alice’s Restaurant” and was greeted by a fan who shouted, “Happy harvest, Arlo!” I was so drenched in patchouli oil that someone seated near me complained. I remember thinking how cool it was that Guthrie’s teenage, skinny and cute son, Abe, played keyboards as part of the band.

So it was for nostalgic reasons that I convinced my partner, Jeremy, to join me at an Arlo Guthrie concert at Seattle’s gorgeous beaux-arts Paramount Theater on a rainy, late January evening. Guthrie appeared with his mane of curly grew hair in a black suit with a much-expanded waistline. He was flanked by his son Abe, who has taken after his father in the expanded waistline and long hair, and by a very talented pedal steel player, long-time session musician Gordon Titcomb. The show overall romped through a various collection of Woody Guthrie songs, Arlo standards and signature stories, such as the “Motorcycle Song.” Perhaps my expectations were too high, or perhaps Arlo was having an off night, but the show seemed tired, and Arlo seems like he is in need of following his father’s footsteps in more ways than just singing his old songs night after night in city after city.

Arlo has a tightly booked calendar that has him stopping in big cities and small town. He rides a tour bus and lives what I can only imagine is the difficult life of a touring musician. I wondered if the reason he travels with only two accompanists isn’t for the “intimacy” he claims, but so that there are less people with whom to share the take. His son Abe isn’t a talented musician, playing simple chords and cheesy synthesizer back up. Thank goodness for Gordon Titcomb, the other musician on the stage who played flawlessly. Arlo isn’t a great guitar player, his voice has become more nasal and rough over the years and many of his original songs sound like B-level country songs that never made it big. They sound that way because they are.

Guthrie makes up for his lack of musical talent with his charm and humor. He is self-deprecating in a cute and gentle way introducing “The Motorcycle Song,” saying that clearly he isn’t a smart song-writer. The simple lyric, “I don’t want a pickle/I just want to ride on my motorcycle/ I don’t want a tickle/I just want to ride on my motorcycle/ I don’t want to die/I just want to ride on my motorcy-cle,” is played while he recounts a silly 15 minute story. While Arlo has updated the introduction to the song, the main part of the story remains as he told it on the original album released in 1968. Hearing this fun old romp is nostalgic. It is where Guthrie does his best, tried and true. The crowd loved hearing the story retold, much the same way everyone loves to listen to the longer “Alice’s Restaurant” each Thanksgiving afternoon.

However, this same repetitive story-telling technique got tired when his mini-vignettes started to sound familiar to me who hasn’t been an active follower in more than a decade. During “This Land is Your Land,” a song that I eagerly anticipated hearing, Guthrie brought the song to a stop, in the same, seemingly impromptu way he did almost 20 years ago, and telling the same story he told 20 years ago. Now surely, between Arlo, who has played the song for 40 years and Woody who wrote and played it for 40 years before Arlo, there has got to be more than one nostalgic, political, funny, or other kind of story.

I know it’s hard for a performer to stay fresh night after night. Arlo tries to create the illusion that each line he says is impromptu, each audience special, his creative juices creating new punch lines, but having heard it all before makes me feel sad for this icon of the sixties, whose peaceful vision now sounds more and more like a pot-induced dream that was grown in the psychedelic and far-out morass of the Sixties and never has hit the ground. Less than feeling inspired to do good and change the world, I left feeling like I’d been duped by a performer who’s learned one schtick that works over and over and over again. There is nothing revolutionary about Arlo Guthrie anymore.

I write this from a feeling of sadness, longing for the hero that I looked to during high school, wishing that he could continue to inspire. I can tell from reading these forums that he does inspire many, but from now on, I’ll stick to listening to Alice’s Restaurant on Thanksgiving afternoon, and treasure memories of an Arlo from years ago.

I have to ask Jackstraw910 why he/she bothered to post here? Better yet, why did you go to the concert to begin with?
I happened upon the no-witted message written by Jack---at first I laughed,(out of sadness, pity, and disbelief that anyone could really be that shallow, and then I felt sorry for such a misguided soul who completely missed the boat--From his comments, I don't think he was even close to the dock when the boat pulled out--Everyone is entitled to an opinion--but Jack--get over there in the line that says "doesn't get it, missed it, hasn't got a clue"
Thanks--that's my opinion.
Lastly I will defend Arlo until I haven't got a breath to speak, and I will continue to go to his concerts as long as I have the ability to get there and he has a voice to sing and tell stories. I will continue to laugh and love and feel the genuine goodness and spirit of the heart and soul of the music, the stories, and the man with his family and his friends on stage and their pure sweet songs. Have I said it clearly enough?

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 2 times, lastly by streetangel on Feb 01, 2003 ---</FONT></center>

Oh no, not someone else disliking a show... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/frown.gif" width=15 height=15> It so sad to see him being put down. Arlo puts on a great show. I've heard the same stories over & over to the point I can almost figure out what's next & yet I get something new out of them each time & they never get old. There's just something special & wonderful about an Arlo show. I'd love to see more positive reviews of shows... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/peace.gif" width=16 height=16>

Oh yeah, thanks to Street Angel for defending Arlo. Arlo is the best! <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15> <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the night, Jackstraw. And I think you're wise to plan on staying home and listening to the old music there in the future. You didn't mention any of the newer music played, probably because it was unfamiliar to you (fresh and new!). I saw him three nights in a row last fall, and each night was different--somewhat the same, sure, but not all the same music or talk, and each night was distinctly different in "feel" and communication. Arlo puts his soul into those shows, but you have to bring yours, too, and be open to a new experience, instead of bringing your own requirements for it. Expecting Arlo to stay the same yet be fresh and different? I think he strikes a good balance of that in his shows, and it can't be easy--working with audiences comprising those who've never heard anything but "Alice's" and want what's comforting and familiar, but also those who know all the words to everything. If you'd check out "Get Stuff" on this site, you would see that there's been new music all long. Sure, Arlo, along with the rest of us, has changed in appearance just as we've grown in spirit over the last 40 years. (Those really were cheap shots but you've got the wrong folks here if you think we'll care.) So if you must, stay home with your old music and patchouli oil and live in the past, but my best wish for you is that you manage to really listen to all the music and 'get it' someday.

Am I missing something? I always thought Abe was an excellent musician.

Having seen Arlo 12 times, and Sarah and Johnny 3 times I can only wonder what jackstraw thinks is entertaining. Every single show has made me laugh, think, and sometimes even cry. But after EVERY SHOW, I walked out of there feeling better about life, myself and humanity in general, than when I walked in. Oh, well, some people may say a rose smells bad. Doesn't mean therose is bad, It means their nose is defective.

Jackstraw...

If you think all Arlo is looking at is the "bottom line"... how much is his "take" ... think again... and read about the work of the Guthrie Center... supported to a large extent by Arlo himself... It seems you don't know jack straw about Arlo's current life.

I say, bless Arlo and all the people who work with him, both onstage and at the Center (Alice's Church in Housatonic), whose goals appear to me to be a fairly successful attempt to make this world a better place!

I must have missed the same thing as you Baldwinville. I also think Abe is a fantastic musician. Beyond that, he appears to always be having a great time on stage with his father. This is another feature of an Arlo show that makes a person want to go back again and again. Everyone on stage seems to enjoy being there, sharing an evening with friends and fans alike.

Yes, Abe is a great keyboard player. I think he does great! I wish I could play keyboards that well... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

Funny, I could relate somehow to what Jackstraw wrote in a rather stiff, professional critic sort of way.

However, I still would travel to MA this Spring IF Arlo has a Spring Revival at the church, AND I'd still go to Phila, Easton and H'burg if he comes back in November.

Matter of fact, although I've seen him close to 80 times over the past 25 or so years, I still had hoped he'd changed his mind about last summer's Woody Festival, as I was passing thru Okemah and seeing him there would have been one of the biggest Arlo-thrills (after Clearwater and Carnegie, of course). Strange, Arlo's gonna be at Okemah THIS year, go figure!

Anyway, while I can see where Jackstraw is coming from (I've been disappointed many times too), I would NEVER stop going to an Arlo concert....

It's not the songs he sings, or even his voice (well, OK, his voice IS adorable in a nasally sort of way), it's HIM! It's Arlo. And he's worth the trip!

Terrie

.. i can appreciate jack straw's skepticism...it's so easy to feel skeptical these days...not "easy" as in easy way out, but disappointingly easy as in a case of, "i wish i didn't know now what i didn't know then."
it wouldn't feel right to me to try and beat another opinion into jack (cuz i'm not sure that actually works anyway) <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15> but i don't feel the same way about it as he.
i've seen arlo on "off days" i guess (and so has he seen me also on "off days") but i'm still glad to see him, cuz after all he'll be off to somewhere else before too long... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>
i guess i'm grateful for any opportunity i've had with him and especially for ones where things were (even if momentarily and ever so moderately) quieter and calmer and (even if i wasn't actually calmer) the moment was at least somewhat ordinary, enough so to really enjoy it, i'm grateful for that. i'm grateful to at least know that much...

...but looking back on it, some of the funniest moments were when i was scared sh*tless...it's kind of hard to explain it all, as you can see, but thanks arlo.

Hey Jack straw: I have been a fan of Arlo and Abe for a long time, and I had to respond to your show report (a.k.a. personal attack). I always figured that if you can't say something nice don't
say anything at all, but in your case I'll make an exception...In a nutshell I think
you're a classic case of a jaded, bitter, unhappy person who gets off putting other people down, and your views seem to be tainted by your jaded bitterness, but well, I'm not a shrink! Cheer up, because you have a rare talent ...taking cheap shots and being shallow at the same time!

After reading Guido's original post and all the replies down to Jack's, I figure there must be two Paramounts in Seattle. They sure didn't go to the same concert!

Jack is wrong. All these years of practice and being on the road have turned Arlo into one of the best gutar players of our times.
I saw Arlow in Portland on the 23rd, and saw
guitar playing that rivals the best. I left
the concert feeling like it would have been a steal if I had payed twice what I did.