It has been many years since I have had the pleasure of being at an Arlo Guthrie show, around twenty-five years, or so I reckon. For years it seemed like Arlo made sure I was busy before he came to the area, but he could not avoid me Tuesday night in Buffalo. Arlo has spent a lifetime being coined the “son of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie” and yet has established himself as one of the greatest folk singers and performers of all-time in his own right. Arlo remains true to the formula that has worked for years, great songs and great stories that are ageless and timeless.
The Buffalo State crowd included college kids, seniors and everything in between. Just to give you an idea of the diverse ages, I brought my 77 year-old mother to the show, next to her were two middle school aged kids and in front of us were a group of college students.
The show began promptly at 8:00 pm with Arlo casually strolling out to the piano to perform “Days are Short” followed by a splendid version of “City of New Orleans.” It didn’t take Arlo long to switch over to guitar to perform many of his trademark songs like “Deportee” and “Coming into Los Angeles,” both songs including the trademark homespun stories that add flavor to the songs.
Arlo closed the first set with “Alabama Bound” a Leadbelly cover, and “Cover of Night.”Before launching into “Alabama Bound,” Arlo told a hilarious story about taking his band on a search to find Leadbelly’s grave. After about an hour, Arlo took a short intermission and came back for a second set.
The second set featured more great songs like “Highway in the Wind” and “This Land is Your Land,” and more hilarious stories like Arlo’s take on the Biblical story of Joseph.
The two-hour plus set was fantastic especially because of the talented backup band Arlo is performing with. The Burns Sisters from Ithaca provided background vocals that were magical. Guthrie’s son Abe is on keyboards, Terry “A La Berry” Hall plays drums, Bobby Sweet is on guitar and Jody Lampro plays bass. All of them sounded in perfect tandem, making a legend sound legendary.
Set 1
Days are Short
City of New Orleans
Pick Me
Darkest Hour
Evangelina
My Old Friend
Deportee
Coming Into Los Angeles
St. James Infirmary
Alabama Bound
Cover of Night
Set 2
Footprints in the Water
Mooses Come Walking
I Hear You Sing Again
Wake up Dead
Demise
Highway in the Wind
Lift Ev’ry Heart
Mystic Journey
This Land is Your Land
Encore
My Peace
BackstageAxxess would like to thank Cindy Bradley from Rising Son Records for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
