And on with the show...Reiveiw by Steve Peck

The Donnie Fritts Benefit was held in Norton Auditorium on the campus of
the University of North Alabama. It was a classy place, far from the juke
joints that these guys cut their teeth in. Still, by the time the music
started, the place was transformed into a funky old watering hole,
complete with the smell of human perspiration, whiskey and cigarettes, and
the salty taste of tears. Of course there was no whiskey or smoking, but
there were musicians sweating, and more than a few tears being shed by
performers and the audience alike.

Local newspaper man Terry Pace was the MC for the night, and did an
outstanding job announcing the performers. He gave lots of great insight
into their relationships with the man himself, Donnie Fritts. The first
person he introduced was music man Buzz Cason, who led the congregation in
a prayer. This undoubtedly served as an omen that we were in for a holy
night.

Opening the concert were a pair of old Fritts buddies, Dan Penn and
Spooner Oldham. These were guys that Donnie hung out with in high school
when they were budding musicians and songwriters. Penn and Oldham have
written more famous, fantastic old soul songs than you could imagine. Not
having heard them perform or sing before, I didn't quite know what to
expect. Man, they slayed me from the word go! Dan Penn's honey soaked,
mercurial vocals took me to the stars, or to the heart of my emotional
soul with equal ease. This man could sing! It wasn't showboating vocal
gymnastics. No, no, no... It was pure emotion, pure sweetness, pure
sadness, undistilled, not watered down. Pure soul. Dan played a simple
acoustic guitar, and Spooner played a simple Wurlitzer electric piano.
Spooner was a classic cat, from the old school. He could sing too. The
two of them performed:

I'm Your Puppet
Cry Like A Baby (yes, they wrote this very famous song)
It Tears Me Up (incredibly emotional)
Hello Memphis (also on Donnie's album, sung by Spooner)
Rainbow Road (cowritten with Donnie, once sung by Kris)
Dark End of the Street (another famous soul song)

To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed their set as much as anybody who played
that night. I became an instant fan, even buying their live CD after the
gig. Be forewarned... If you've recently suffered a heartbreak and ache,
hearing Dan Penn sing "It Tears Me Up" might be too much. Be sure to have
you handkerchief close by.

Much to my surprise, the next artist was Donnie Fritts!!! I thought for
sure he would be later in the show. Still it seemed a good idea for him
to play early, and the fact that Spooner's electric piano was already
center stage. When Donnie hit the stage, the crowd went crazy. Everybody
rose immediately, and applauded one of the world's most gifted
songwriters, and one of the all-time great nice guys. Donnie looked
pretty good for a man who's been through so much lately. He was warm and
engaging with the crowd, and said he would play "We Had It All," his
signature tune. Donnie broke into an emotional rendition that would prove
to be a little too emotional for the man. About half way through, he
broke down, and played the rest of the tune insturmental while the tears
flowed. More than a few tears were shed by those us who were also
overcome with the moment. He apologized and thanked everybody, and then
returned to his seat in the wings. The whole event kind of stunned the
crowd. But as these things go with family (and the crowd did seem like
family), it only brought everybody closer.

As Donnie announced "We Had It All," he mentioned that Waylon Jennings and
his wife Jessi Colter were in attendance, and were sitting in the wings
with Donnie and Donna Fritts. Dan Penn had informed us that legendary
producer Chips Moman was in attendance (he produced the first two H-Men
albums, Kris' "Repossessed," and many other solo albums by the H-Men).
Another even more famous producer was also there... none other than Sam
Phillips, "The Father of Rock'n'Roll!" This is the man who produced
Elvis Presley's early Sun recordings, as well as early Sun sides for Carl
Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I guess it just goes to show
how Donnie Fritts rates. The legendary greats come out for him!

Speaking of great, the next performer was the master of the swamp bucket,
Louisiana bayou guitar, "the funkiest man alive" (according to Delbert
McClinton), Tony Joe White! Tony Joe peformed on his electric with only
the accompaniment of his drummer (who was rock, rock solid, hitting them
drums like cannons going off). Tony Joe coaxed some wild swamp critters
out of his guitar with tasty leads, whirring and whizzing feedback, and
short stomps on his wah-wah pedal. His soul, blues and funk was hot,
sexy, and swampy. He played (I don't know if I got all the titles
right):

Undercover Agent For the Blues
Stormy Windows
300 Pounds of Hongry (a Funky Donnie Fritts song)
Rainy Night In Georgia (very soulful rendition)
Polk Salad Annie (his big hit, still a riot today)

Next, the President of the University of NA got up and did some school PR
schmooze while informing us that he went to high school with Donnie. This
whole little speech worked, as the big kickin' band came out and set up
while he was talking. Sheez, they had an incredible band, with some of
the most famous pickers around including legendary guitarists, Reggie
Young, Will McFarlane, and others. Whew!!! They rocked!!! And man, you
could tell these guys just liked to play. They were laughing and carrying
on, and jammin'! Yowza. Buzz Cason came back on and played two songs he
had written:

Lay Down Your Arms
Everlasting Love (recorded by everybody from Gloria Estefan and U2)

Buzz was all right.

Well, the place next lit up like a light bulb (especially the first three
rows where the Kris list and former fan club members were sitting) when a
dapper looking Billy Swan came out and treated us with some of his
dynamite rockabilly. Billy just exuded brightness and light as he rolled
through:

Lover, Please (his big one from 1962)
Move Me Deeply (slower and very heartfelt)
I Can Help (which was really appreciated by the crowd)

Billy was awesome. He may be the most likeable guy in the music biz.
(And he likes biscuits and gravy - more on that in another post)

Then country singer and guitar slinger Leroy Parnell came on. To be
honest, I'm not that familiar with Leroy. I guess he's more famous to
those who have followed country artists in the last 15 years. This is a
dude who likes to play slide guitar when the guys in suits allow it. Let
me tell you, he played lots (and I mean lots) of slide guitar. He quickly
toasted my eyebrows with the heat of his slide. As an afficiando of guitar
heroes, I must say Leroy is up there, a real natural. He likes to play,
and play he did. His songs went on real long, to let his guitar do his
talkin'. It was great when he would coax Reggie Young and the other
axe slingers into guitar duels. He played:

Ought To Be A Law (this really rocked, and was requested by Donnie)
Love Without Mercy
My Heart's Desire

Next up was soul 'n' roller Delbert McClinton, the "King of the Road House
Blues." Delbert has the voice of soul master, up front and strong, sweet
when needed, punchy and proud the rest of the time. He played some funky
numbers, and fell in perfectly with the band. He coaxed Leroy Parnell out
again for some more slide action. The man can also really blow on the
harmonica. Delbert serenaded us with:

Standin' On Shaky Ground
Givin' It Up For Your Love (his big hit)
Sending Me Angels (requested by Donnie)
Monkey Around
Leap Of Faith

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Gary Nicholson also came out on stage,
and treated us with "Memphis Women and Chicken," a song he wrote with
Donnie Fritts and Dan Penn. He coaxed Donnie and Dan back onstage to sing
background vocals. This was a hilarious song that was a veritable
smorgasboard of double entendre.

Delbert next introduced a guy who used to play lead guitar in his band,
and also used to play for a singer with a grizzled grey beard (you know
who)..... Of course, it was Stephen Bruton!!! The first three rows went
nuts again, as Stephen came out and played "She's The Reason." This song
was dedicated to Donna Fritts, Jessi Colter, and Lisa Kristofferson, for
helping tame their wayward wildmen husbands and their wild and wayward
ways. It was a great moment, which segued nicely into the next
performer....

... the illustrious Kristoffer Kristofferson. The MC gave a rousing
intro, and Kris ambled out onstage dressed in black, wearing his how
famous long coat. The crowd went ballistic, and unanimously rose in
reception. It was a southern lovefest. Man, Kris was Kris. The ultimate
"Slick, Well-Oiled Machine" (not). He came out, grabbed a music stand,
and dumped out about 37 harmonicas, capos, bottled water, and God knows
what (which all fell off the music stand at least once during the
performance). The smiling man in the silver beard also was onstage, this
being Billy Swan. Billy played acoustic guitar and sang his ever so sweet
backup vocals. Kris broke into a most appropriate opener, "Shipwrecked In
the Eighties," which to me, was just perfect. Without much fanfare or
talk, he took us through standards "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" and "Me
and Bobby McGee."

Like I said, Kris was really Kris. His guitar playing wasn't the best,
his harmonica squawked a couple of times, his voice was like a frog. Man,
it was great! The songs were so real, his presence so strong, the words
were hitting home. I think Kris befuddled the band a bit. They seemed
less sure of themselves, following Kris the whole way. It seems like they
were less rehearsed with Kris or something. But it didn't matter. He
knocked everybody out.

As he gave the into into "Here Comes That Rainbow Again," (about writing
the song with John Steinbeck after he was dead), a stage hand brought a
mysterious note out to Kris' music stand. Kris read it aloud, and it said
"Waylon?" Kris offered Waylon to come out and sing it with him, but
Waylon declined. So Kris sang it by himself, but was also joined by
Stephen Bruton on back up vocals. So the Borderlords reunion was
consummated. Kris next did "Help Me Make It Through the Night."

After this, all of a sudden the crowd went into a surprised roar as Mr.
Jennings strode across the stage with the help of his cane. He promptly
told us in his inimitable way that "although I may be cripple, I still
know how to kick ass!" He ordered the band to play "Help Me Make It
Through the Night" again in the key of G. This time Waylon took the lead,
and proved he wasn't lying. Nothing has changed his ass kicking voice and
spirited character. Afterwards, he let loose on a hilarous tirade about
Kris' harmonica playing after Kris accused him of hiding one of his harps.
Kris didn't take Waylon's teasing laying down, and said he was going to
play his harmonica "REAL LOUD" (which he did). Man, it was one of the
funniest moments I can remember. Maybe Waylon and Kris should have their
own comedy hour. Another hilarious moment came when Kris said Donna
Fritts told him that he couldn't cuss onstage since a bunch of people from
her church were going to be there. Both Kris and Waylon agreed that they
didn't have much to say since they couldn't cuss! It was a riot.

Well, next they launched into the ever appropriate "Pilgrim - Chapter 33."
This was followed by another appropriate number, "This Old Road." Once
again, this song hit like a ton of bricks considering how time has changed
all of us, at least on the outside. The crowd was very appreciative to
hear "For the Good Times," before a rousing, "Why Me" shook the rafters of
the Norton Auditorium as Kris asked Donnie to come out and start the
number out on his keyboard. All the performers returned to the stage and
sang the gospel classic, as the concert ended on a real spiritual note.

After the show, a bunch of us got up on the stage (a lot of people were
doing it) to see if we could meet the performers. Kris and Waylon were
already long gone, but Donnie was up there meeting people. I got to talk
to him, and I said I was the guy who did an interview with him two years
that was posted on the internet. Much to my pleasure, he remembered me
right away, and said "You live in Indianapolis, right?" This scored
ultimate brownie points with me. He also mentioned something about the
Indianapolis Colts being in the football playoffs.

The prez of the University had invited the whole audience over to a nearby
hall to a reception for Donnie and the performers. He said they were
serving "cookies and lemonade" (how Southern!). We went over there, and
found Kris and Waylon, surrounded by a crowd of folks, signing autographs.
I saw the back of Kris' head from a distance. Wilma gave Donnie the
basket from the list members, which he was very appreciative of. The
reception didn't last very long, as the performers took off pretty
quickly. Luckily, I did get both Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's autographs
on my new CD.

I have one last little story about something that happened on our way out
of the university. Carol and I were riding with Dan and Wilma Fiser, and
all of a sudden traffic backed on the drive just outside the parking lot.
There was a car ahead blocking the way. We started to get a little upset
since it was taking quite a bit of time. All of a sudden we look up, and
see Waylon walking across the street to another car. The car blocking the
road was the limousine, which undoubtedly held Kris and probably Donnie
and Donna. Not intentionally, we ended up following the white limousine
right back to the Holiday Inn, where Kris and Billy Swan got out.

Folks, the rest of my story will have to wait until later, when I can post
something about meeting all the listmembers and friends, the musician
sitings in the lobby (including breakfast with Billy Swan), and other
stories. Man, what a great time. If you made it this far with me, I
thank you. You know how windy I can get when I get wound up!

Steve Peck