- By Dan Veaner
- Entertainment
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Arlo Guthrie - Purchase Album A few years ago I saw half of the Monkees at the New York State Fair. It was a nice surprise that Mickey Dolenz had become a pretty good guitarist, but seeing an aging "cute" Davy Jones was pitiful, if not scary. So it was with a little trepidation that I went to see Arlo Guthrie at a sold-out performance in the State Theater on Friday (10/22) night. I needn't have worried. I loved Arlo in the 60s for his unadorned outrage about red tape and everyday situations, and his just plain silliness. While it is 40 years since "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" became a hit, he still has a unique point of view that makes a world that takes itself too seriously a little more fun.
The show integrated "The Mammals," the opening act, and Gordon Titcomb, who plays with Guthrie. The former backed up Arlo on some songs, while the latter enhanced The Mammals' Appalacian Tradional/Rock fusion sound with turns on the mandolin and slide guitar.
The Mammals slipped with this reviewer when they went into a "holier than thou, we're smart and the President is dumb wannabe humor" song that even had a reference to the Dixie Chicks, who famously lost business and fans when they did the same thing. Of course in Ithaca the crowd loved it. I guess the moral is "know your audience." But fiddler Ruth Ungar redeemed herself with me at least, when she mentioned she was playing a fiddle made by local instrument maker Eric Acedo, who is a genius with wood and instruments.
After the break Arlo simply walked onto the stage and started playing with no fanfare or introduction. Backed up by Titcomb and his son Abe on keyboard he played a variety of his own tunes as well as those by Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman and his father Woody Guthrie. Singing and telling stories with authority he owned the stage.
Arlo has aged gracefully and his act is laced with wry comments on how it has affected his life. When introducing the more than 20 minute long "Alice's Restaurant" he commented, "If I had known how popular it was going to be I wouldn't have made it so long!" He also told the audience that he used to tape a set list (the list of songs played in a show) to his guitar until he realized how far away he'd have to hold the guitar in order to read it.
The show was as much about story telling and observations as about music, but demonstrated his professionalism and virtuosity. He even turned the tables, playing backup to a cut from Titcomb's new album. The audience clearly loved his old hits, like "Coming into Los Angeles" and Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans." And the stories! He interrupted "This Land is My Land" several times to tell his rendition of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors and how an individual (the nameless fellow who directed Joesph to his brothers on that fateful day) can make a huge difference in the world without much effort.
It was touching that he honored his dad with stories about growing up and by singing his songs, and was proud of his own kids including doing the road tour with his son Abe. Among items for sale was his new album, "Live in Sydney," which he wanted to call "He's Only Mostly Dead," which was recorded when the tour played in Australia. For the music, for the guitar playing and for the stories Arlo still has it. It was a great concert by a cultural icon.
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