Willie Nelson STAGE WORN BANDANA + 2 Front Row Center 1998 CONCERT TICKET STUBS

  
I TOOK MY MOM THERE FOR HER 73rd BIRTHDAY. GOT FRONT ROW CENTER TICKETS.

TO MY MOM AT THE END OF THE SHOW. PETE TIMES (Now The Tampa Bay Times). THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER THE NEXT DAY. Willie Nelson's music, fans fill the spectrum. Before Willie Nelson led a full-house crowd on a journey through his musical autobiography last night, the protean spirit of the man was nowhere more apparent than in the Ruth Eckerd Hall lobby, where cowboy boots mingled amicably with glossy penny loafers, suits and ties waited in the same bathroom lines as jeans and T-shirts, and the contents of pockets were either handkerchiefs or chewing tobacco cans.

The sartorial spectrum was representative of his music over the years. Willie Nelson is a man of many monikers. It has rarely been just Willie Nelson, and he proved again last night that even as his recorded music continues to change, his live performances can still draw diverse audiences. With so many hit tunes, it would have been practically impossible for Nelson to disappoint a crowd _ that is, unless he didn't get them all in. From the moment he strolled onto stage in his "Don't Mess With Texas" T-shirt, he and his band played virtually a continuous stream of music, like a greatest-hits album with no breaks between songs. Some songs, such as Crazy and City of New Orleans, he hurried over. On others, such as a beautiful version of You were Always on My Mind and Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain, he spent thoughtful moments plucking out fascinating guitar solos. Nelson's guitar playing has its own reputation, and is very obvious in concert.

He is not a technical guitarist so much as an emotional one. With its famous gash in its front, his guitar bears the signature of this emotional playing; a style that is sometimes out of control, and almost always off-center of the beat. There were moments when his playing was pure magic. Other times he sounded like a novice. A Willie Nelson concert is a unique experience.

He doesn't have a set list, playing songs as they come to his head. It could explain why his audience got two shots of Whiskey River. He played a couple of religious tunes, Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Amazing Grace. Around 10:30 he had almost run out of the classic material, so he tossed in a few songs from his new Teatro album.

For an encore, he pulled a few more songs out of his bandanna. For the 65-year-old, and for the generations of fans in the audience, Nelson's music never gets old.