R.U.N.E ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED
Some performers don’t know when to hang it up. Unable to leave the road, they keep on playing as long as people continue to show. That doesn’t necessarily lead to an enjoyable concert experience. We’d heard that Merle definitely doesn’t fall into that category, so we looked up a recent performance. Here’s what the Orange County Register had to say about his May 12, 2011, performance in Anaheim. After all, the 74-year-old California native sang with an affecting authority that eludes most artists his age, thrilled the audience whether playing tasty licks on his Fender Telecaster or his fiddle, and led his trusty band the Strangers through more than a dozen of the best outlaw country classics ever written. And while it came as little surprise that classics like “Okie” and “Mama Tried” elicited cheers, it were the unlikely moments that ultimately made the concert far more than a mere nostalgia trip. His vocal delivery on “Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star” was beautiful, his baritone mining the deepest of emotions; his guitar work on “Silver Wings” and “If We Make It Through December” was unexpectedly stunning for its simplicity and sway. Haggard’s backing band was also fantastic, notably his son and lead guitarist Ben Haggard, whose fiery fretwork provided another dimension to Merle’s sound. - Robert Kinsler Orange County Register Bell Auditorium | Saturday, August 6 7:30 p.m. | $39.50-$57.50 | 877-4AUGTIX
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