MICHAEL NESMITH LIVE AT THE WADSWORTH - MARCH 18, 1995
By Donna Bailey
The theater was dark as a simple but effective introduction was made. A deep male voice said, "MICHAEL NESMITH." In the darkness Michael walked out onto the stage. This show would be very different from the informal Oregon shows in August, 1994 where Nez the comedian cut loose and pretended to be the amusing "Armando, the Newt." Tonight we would not be entertained by Nez, we would experience "MICHAEL NESMITH."
A very cool, confident, happy and healthy looking Michael strolled out on the stage. He was dressed in jeans, boots, and a blue western shirt. The color of his shirt complimented his neatly trimmed graying beard and hair. HE LOOKED GREAT! A 12 string guitar hung from the tall Texan’s shoulder.
The theater was filled with Nesmith fans, many like myself who had traveled great distances to see this show. As I looked through the crowd I spotted Harold Bronson, Bobby Sherman and all three of Michael’s sons, Christian, Jonathan and Jason. The entire office staff from Rio Records was also there.
This performance was divided up into three separate "mini-concerts." For the first part of the show, Michael was alone on-stage singing and playing his guitar. Part two featured "Tex" Nesmith and his band playing mostly First National Band material. The grand finale had ALL members of the Hellecasters joining Michael for an exciting encore!
The concert started with Michael alone on the stage singing and playing his 12 string guitar to the following songs: "Some of Shelly’s Blues," "Propinquity," "Nine Times Blue," "Marie’s Theme," "Silver Moon," "Joanne," "Tomorrow and Me," and "The Upside Of Good-bye." This part of the show was so special because the fans got to hear Michael perform these songs in their simple, basic form, the way Michael originally wrote them coming straight from the heart and being offered to us to enjoy. The first four songs, "Some Of Shelly’s Blues," "Propinquity," "Nine Times Blue" and "Marie’s Theme" were in my opinion the highlight of the entire evening. While Michael sang these songs, his beautiful voice was filled with such intense emotion that it felt as if Michael was actually living the experience of each song’s story as he sang them to us.
After "Marie’s Theme," Michael paused to talk a minute. The comments he made were referring to the last song The Hellecasters performed in their one hour "Let’s thrill this crowd half out of their minds" show. Michael said, "You didn’t think I was going to come out here and play an electric guitar after that, did you? After "Orange Blossom Special" walk out here with an electric guitar and start playing it? HA HA HA HA! (Nez lets out a deep husky laugh that makes the comment even funnier." He continued, "Those were some of the songs off of early albums, this is some of the songs off of ...the same early albums!"
"Silver Moon" was next and Michael’s voice was filled with a sweet, gentle melancholy mood through the majority of the song. On the last chorus he let loose with such power and fury in both his voice and his guitar playing. His effective use of dynamics was not easy to accomplish by himself without a band. Joanne immediately followed. Every time Michael sings this song he proves what a fine vocalist he is as he perfectly hits those high falsetto notes with such control, beauty and grace! He proves that a man is capable of singing in a way that can actually be called pretty. "Tomorrow and Me" and "The Upside of Good-bye" were exceptional! I enjoyed these songs so much more performed live. To conclude his solo performance, Michael told a delightful story about "The Upside Of Good-bye.’" Nez explained, "The last two songs were off the albums "And The Hits Just Keep On Coming" I used the word enrichening... and... ah... "THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS ENRICHENING! Now I sing it enriching having learned better. But when you get the album... as I’m sure you all now will... and you listen to enrichening. . .please don’t think. . .GAAAAH!!!... (Michael kicked the floor with his boot and makes a face like "Boy is he stupid!")
The show continued with musicians John Jorgerson, Steve Duncan and J. D. Maness, John Davis and Jim Cox joining Michael on stage. (Jorgenson, Duncan, and Maness are all former members of The Desert Rose Band.) The set started with "Laugh Kills Lonesome." I believe this must be one of Michael’s personal favorites because he always performs this song two times at each concert. He has so much fun with this song and really gets a kick out of performing it! He ended it with a deep hardy laugh. The First National Band material followed and the audience had the privilege of hearing "Grand Ennui," "Mama Nantucket," "Calico Girlfriend," "Crippled Lion," "Keys To The Car," "Bye, Bye, Bye," "Thanx for The Ride" and "Different Drum." As good as these songs are on all the 1970’s recordings, nothing can compare to seeing and hearing Michael perform them live. This music means so much to Michael. He put his heart into his performance and showed a deep sense of pride in his music. Nez has every reason to be proud because these songs have stood the test of time. They are classics that sound as good today as they did in the seventies. Michael’s creativity and intelligence shines through in this material and these songs are truly precious gems. Michael began to loosen up and not be so serious. He put on a black cowboy hat and the Texan in him took over. Nez sang, "Grand Ennui" with a sly little grin on his face. The man was having one heck of a good time and it showed. Nez was all country as he yodeled on "Mama Nantucket" and "Keys To The Car." At the end of "Keys To The Car," Nez repeated the last line of the song by himself and then looked up at the audience and said, "Just checking the concept."
Michael took a minute to introduce the band. Jim Cox, who was surrounded by various keyboard equipment was introduced as "Jim Cox on the ... WHATEVER THAT STUFF IS OVER THERE!" "Calico Girlfriend," "Crippled Lion" and "Bye, Bye, Bye" are some of my personal favorites, so I especially enjoyed these songs. On "Crippled Lion" John Jorgenson played a guitar part different from the original recording and I liked it much better. On "Bye, Bye, Bye" both Michael and John were really getting into the song and things got lively. "Thanx For The Ride" was unbelievable! The band was so together on building the dynamics and Michael’s voice echoed through the theater with a strength I have never heard before. "Different Drum" is a song John Jorgenson told me he enjoys playing for Michael. These two men work so well together. The combined talents of Nez and Jorgey create a special magic on the stage.
Michael then invited Hellecasters Will Ray and Jerry Donahue to join them. You haven’t lived until you hear The Hellecasters play "Rio" with Michael. While Michael sings one of the strongest vocals you will ever hear, The Hellecasters add a rich fullness with their three distinct styles of playing. Without a doubt, "Cruisin’" was the most exciting moment of the evening. Things got a bit risqué in the introduction of the song as Nez boldly displayed his belt buckle, which he claimed to be "a present from a friend." Women throughout the theater were screaming!
The last song was "Listen To The Band" and there was a huge outburst of cheering as Nezheads reacted with joy. I thought I might be experiencing my first earth quake as the theater shook with the excitement. Each band member did a solo and the magnificent ending had all three Hellecasters together up front doing what they do best! The band left the stage and after several minutes of constant cheering from the crowd they returned and played "Laugh Kills Lonesome."
Right after the show Michael came out to sign autographs. As always Nez made sure his fans had the opportunity to meet him. Nez made himself available five times that day! He came in and out the stage door four times in addition to the time he spent signing autographs after the show. To sum it all up, Michael gave all he could possibly give and his audience received as much as they ever could have asked for. YOU DONE GOOD NEZ!!!