Review: Kris Kristofferson at Kent Stage 6/8/10
Over the last several years there have been more than a few outstanding solo shows put on by icons of popular music in a variety of local venues. Nils Lofgren was outstanding at the Winchester; Karla Bonoff was just as good at both the Winchester and the Kent Stage. Three of the best were Nick Lowe at the Beachland; J.D. Souther at Nighttown; and Ray Davies this past winter at the Palace Theater in downtown Lorain. To that list of very enjoyable shows you could add Kris Kristofferson’s solo performance last Wednesday at the Kent Stage in downtown Kent.
The 73 year old singer songwriter took the stage for two sets, 37 songs in all including encores. Dressed in simple black and accompanying himself on a guitar and harmonica, Kristofferson sang songs from all eras of his career, rock hits and country hits, and songs off recent albums that are just as good but do not get any radio airplay.
He took each song on its own, ad-libbing a lyric or two, occasionally making a comment. He forgot a lyric or two and made fun of himself for doing it, and the guitar playing was far from slick, but the songs and the singing was sincere and honest. The songs from his 2006 release “Closer to the Bone” stood out, including the title song and “From Here to Forever.” But the audience came to hear the great songs that make up the Kristofferson song book, and he delivered soulful versions of them all, including “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “For the Good Times,” and at least a dozen others that were hits for mostly other performers.
The Kent Stage has really picked up their bookings and have a lot of good shows coming up including Mary Chapin Carpenter on July 10, and Brandi Carlile on July 25. For information or to buy tickets for all Kent stage shows visit http://www.kentstage.org.
Greg Cielec is a local writer who covers mostly music and sports for a variety of publications and websites. He is also a full time English and creative writing teacher at Streetsboro High School; an adjunct professor at BGSU Firelands College and Lakeland Community College; and a football coach at John Carroll University.
He has published two books of fiction, My Cleveland Story (1998) and Home and Away Games (2006), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Heaton has called him “the Mark Twain of Cleveland.” Check out his website and blog at http://www.GregCielec.com.