Guthrie
sparks magical night at CPAC
By Christine G. Adamo
On-line Forty-Niner
There is no better way to get a crash course
in ‘60s folk culture than by spending “An
Evening with Arlo Guthrie” and 1000 of his
closest fans, family members and friends.
 The
55-year-old singer led what amounted to
a religious movement bathed in gold, overhead
lighting and flanked by 12 guitars and various
implements of creative construction on the
stage of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
on Friday night.
Tunes by father Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston,
Hoyt Axton and Bob Dylan complimented many
of Guthrie’s own. Soft-spoken daughter Sara
Lee Guthrie—whose allure rivals that of
Stevie Nicks and son-in-law Johnnie Irion,
who held a hefty dose of twang in his back
pocket, opened the show with their moving
and delicate “Georgia Pines.”
The couple finished their three-song set
with a sing-a-long. Guthrie then charged
on stage, picked up his guitar and burst
into song amid a round of applause that
bordered on a standing ovation.
Abe Guthrie stood by smiling, effortlessly
backing his father up on vocals and keyboard.
Gordon Titcomb, who last year lent his picking
skill to Jimmy Fallon’s “The Bathroom Wall,”
did likewise on pedal steel guitar, mandolin
and banjo.
Guthrie delivered a straight shot of signature
singing—intermittently broken up with comic
relief and tall tales designed to turn his
audience’s attention to the social injustice
that continues to shape his career and spur
him to folkloric, musical action.
“It was over 40 years ago that I first played
in front of a crowd,” Guthrie said between
songs. “It scared the hell out of me; it
was like being in a monster movie!”
Staying true to his informal roots, Guthrie
interrupted himself many times during his
performance. During “Motorcycle” he stopped
to marvel, “I can’t believe I wrote this
song; or that I’d make a living singing
it—for decades! I love America!” and then
continued:
“I don’t want a pickle; Just want to ride
on my motorsickle; And I don’t want a tickle;
‘Cause I’d rather ride on my motor-sickle.”
As the night wore on the crowd created a
soft hum that underscored hits like “The
City of New Orleans,” by Steve Goodman,
and “This Land is Your Land,” written by
first-generation folk legend, father Woody
Guthrie.
Guthrie then turned the microphone back
over to his daughter and her husband, Irion,
who engaged the audience in a sing-a-long
of one of Grandpa Woody’s 1,930 unrecorded
songs, “No Church Tonight.”
A standing ovation and shouts of “Bravo!”
marked the informal end of the show. Guthrie
reemerged with a “Thank you” that was returned
by the audience as “Thank you” and cries
for “Alice!” Alas, “Alice’s Restaurant,”
the near 25-minute, monologue set to music
that catapulted Guthrie and his same-titled
first album to fame, was not on the agenda.
“I figure the show is over now, so we’re
just foolin’ around!” Guthrie quipped.
The two-and-a-half hour show ended with
audience participation in the singing of
Huddie Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” and
another, well-deserved round of applause.
This time, no one was left sitting.
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