Well. It has been a while since I had the incentive to attend a live show. Life gets in the way, travel, then there is “I have seen them too many times and need a pause.” I should add Ticketmaster causing a show to be so expensive after seeing an artist for decades. I stopped participating in that model. This was not one of those shows. It was Lukas Nelson, son of Willie. I am a fan of Lukas and his band. I have seen them many times. They are so damn talented. I’ll share a few cell phone photos and at some point I will dig out my camera shots. These days my iPhone seems to be close to camera photos as long as I am close to the stage.
Lukas was a favorite of mine from the first time I saw him. First Lukas has the pressure of being one of the sons of a great in the music business. Then you have the current state of the music business which really only pays when you play a live show and media profits get absorbed by streaming unless you can sell some physical media. Given the great siphon of current profit of the current music business I personally choose to buy vinyl to enjoy while supporting the artist and go see live shows to support the people who should reap the profits of our enjoyment. I have all of Lukas’s vinyl. So here I am after so many Farm Aid shows and Lukas Nelson shows for many years going to another show. It takes most of a day of my life to travel and stand hours for a show then drive home a couple of hours. Because he is the real deal. He has the DNA of a great in country music.
I had two tickets and an early pass into the show but yet had trouble finding someone to go with me due to the pace of life in 2023. So I hit the road to Raleigh alone to see a cool show and with my passes I could get in early to get a place on the “rail” as they call it up front in a standing room only venue. It is nice to have something to lean on after standing for hours to see a show. As the hour before the show passed I stood around and exchanged stories of the concert adventures of the past with people I did not know. That is always a part of the experience of live music.
The place was packed. It was sold out and people ended up pushed to all four walls. I kept looking at the closest exit if needed as this was a very full house. The crowd was mostly nice people and it is always cool to be in a place with friendly people. Many of us had driven two or three hours one way to see this show. I noticed the lack of drinking as we all had to drive home later although there were a few that arrived a bit “in the wind” as they say. Hopefully they had a driver to take them home safely.
Lukas changed guitars several times and played everything from “Outlaw Country” to Rock.
Lukas has an amazing talented band that has been with him for a long time. They are something to watch.
The show lasted just over two hours and sampled Lukas’ catalog of music as well as some covers that I really enjoyed. I think it got better as it went on. Lukas played all the great songs from his last album “Sticks and Stones” as well as “A Few Stars Apart.” I have many favorites off of both of those collections. As the show progressed he played some covers I loved.
I knew this song in three beats. It is a Jerry Reed classic called “Amos Moses” and Lukas knocked it out of the park.
Yeah, here comes Amos…
Now, Amos Moses was a Cajun
He lived by his self in the swamp
He hunted alligator for living
He’d just knock them in the head with a stump
He also played his Dad’s song “Bloody Mary Morning” and as I stood there and took it in from a few feet away I smiled as I heard that genetic voice tone that only he has. I have seen Willie Nelson through five decades. I know his voice tone very well. Willie has such a unique voice tone. Did I mention Lukas sang Roger Millers’ 1964 classic “King of the Road” and had the entire audience singing it? The last time I heard that tune I was in a green room in Key West with Toby Keith singing that song and talking about how much he loved the music of Roger Miller. What a flashback.
The band was so good last night. They are all so talented and so tight on a stage. What a crew!
About half-way through the show someone passed-out in the back of the crowd and people started waving hands. Lukas stopped the show and asked what was going on. He would not go ahead until he got the thumbs up everyone was ok. He was 110% right in doing what he did in stopping until everything was ok. Nice job.
The band ends the seeming endless encores with a parting shot. What a nice show. If you want to see some great music up close you better hurry. Lukas and the Promise of the Real is headed for larger venues. The music was great and they gave it all…Forever is a four-letter word.
We got married in a hurry, it was such a lovely day
I said “Do you?” She said “I do” and now she’s here to stay
My independence calls me from a pay phone far away
He says “Listen man, I’m worried, you ain’t never been this way”
And I get antsy
Real commitment seems absurd
Out here in the country
‘Forever’ is a four letter word
As I walked out to my car I looked over to see Lukas stopped on the way to the tour bus with a smiling crowd reaching out for an autograph and and hand shake. He was making them smile after working hard non-stop on stage. That is the way a real entertainer does it. He gives it on stage and off. That is why I keep coming to see him after what must be a dozen times now. I’ll see him again next year at Farm Aid 2024. Lukas is the man.
Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.