By Chelsea Schmid
Staff Writer who is Special to LIVE!
March 17, 2008
I could start off by saying how many people were there; how many tickets were sold; how good the show was, and other such things. But this artist doesn’t need any such qualifiers. Wednesday night Willie Nelson played the San Angelo Coliseum following a set by Deana Carter.
In terms of the decibel level coming out of the PA, it was probably the quietest concert I’d ever been to, surely of that size. The crowd sat in reverence of the Texas Hero; cheering enthusiastically at the conclusion of every song. These were familiar tunes to everyone who had lived and owned a radio in the past half-century. Anyone who had listened to radio even. These songs were part of our nation's musical heritage.
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Willie went on a little later than expected and some had worried his set would be cut short. Emerging around 9:45 p.m., clad in black and with a matching black cowboy hat, he played for over an hour. He will be celebrating his 75 birthday this year, but Wednesday night fans of all ages sang along to his songs.
The floor was divided by two sections of chairs with an aisle between them, and as Willie went through song after song, the space in the center began to fill with people holding their cameras. It didn’t take long before security was telling people to stay out of the aisle and away from the front of the barricade: They were blocking the view of those front-and-center ticket-holders; the ones that had shelled out the big bucks for the prime seating.
I spotted Los Lonely Boys in the VIP section seated backstage right among various family members, about halfway through the show. The band of brothers and their father climbed the steps on the side of the stage and grabbed their instruments. Then, on Willie’s cue, the Lonely Boys emerged to the delight of surprised and screaming fans.
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With musicians piled on risers like it was a War show, Willie Nelson, his band, and Los Lonely Boys and their father played a couple of songs including the ‘Boys Grammy award-winning “Heaven.” By now, Willie had removed his black hat to reveal long, silver braids and a red bandana. Soon after the Lonely Boys finished and said goodnight, Willie threw out his bandana and one lucky concertgoer quickly caught it before the others.
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Willie played for about 20 more minutes before Deana Carter reemerged, child in hand, and sang a song with him. After she stepped off the stage, Willie went through a couple more before calling it a night and exiting stage left. As he passed the seating that overlooked the backstage area, he stopped, signed a few autographs and shook a few hands before retiring to his bus.
It didn’t take long for the place to clear—it was 10:50 on a Wednesday night—and the show was packed up and gone within an hour and a half. On to bed before the next big town.
I guess your could say they were all "ONDA ROAD Again"!
Great work Chels! Keep it up. ssssplendid pictures.
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