Making a rare appearance in the Western New York area, singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson played at the Seneca Allegany Casino this past Saturday night. Fresh off of a Grammy nomination for his latest offering, “The Cedar Creek Sessions,” Kristofferson dished out an hour and 25 minutes worth of material to the eager crowd.
Starting off the show with a cut off of 1995’s “A Moment in Forever,” Kristofferson got his feet wet with “Shipwrecked in the Eighties.” It took a few songs for Kristoffrerson to get warmed up and once he did, he was dialed in. There was humor added at times as Kristofferson sang “Me and Bobby McGee.” After that, he asked the audience…”you can’t believe I wrote that one huh?” The song he wrote for the late Janis Joplin, he added her name to the end of the song title when he sang it. Kristofferson didn’t let his issues of switching his harmonica out and even made jokes about it before starting “Me and Bobby McGee.” He said, “It’s fun watching an old fart changing his harmonica huh?”, bringing laughs from the audience.
Kristofferson is a prolific songwriter. Many times after he would get done singing one of his 28 songs, he would make the comment “true story.” Drawing from life experiences and being as versatile as Kristofferson is, he came off as very likeable and personable.
Considered one of the last true outlaws, Kristofferson still has the traits of one. His ruggedness and his recent battle with Lyme disease show how tough he is. He was misdiagnosed with dementia at first, but now is tackling the condition he faces. There are times he forgets, as he did in the midst of “Casey’s Last Ride,” and stated “what the hell am I doing?” Besides a few hiccups, seeing a treasure like Kristofferson is a treat and a rarity. The audience, I believe, felt the same way.
Set List:
Shipwrecked in the Eighties
Darby’s Castle
Me and Bobby McGee
Here Comes That Rainbow Again
Best of All Possible Worlds
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Casey’s Last Ride
Nobody Wins
Rocket to Stardom
Feeling Mortal
From Here to Forever
Broken Freedom Song
Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)
Just the Other Side of Nowhere
Duvalier’s Dream
I’d Rather Be Sorry
They Killed Him
Jody and the Kid
The Pilgrim
Jesus Was a Capricorn
The Promise
To Beat the Devil
Sunday Morning Coming Down
The Silver Tongued Devil and I
For the Good Times
A Moment of Forever
Why Me
Encore:
Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends
We would like to thank Phil Pantano from Pantano & associates for the credentials to review the show.
