I just got home from an amazing concert. Glen Campbell, on his Goodbye Tour. Unlike so many other artists that have retired, had a farewell tour, and then came back for more and more, this truly is his last tour. He revealed before this tour that he is suffering from Alzheimer's. He made one last studio album (a must have in my opinion) and set out with his family on one more tour to sing and play for his fans.
With this in mind I went to Mystic Lake Casino to see him. First up was a few songs from a band called Instant People. Not a bad group actually, especially when you realize that three of the members are his kids. It turned out this was also his backup band.
The first song was Gentle On My Mind. It was obvious right away that he was going to have trouble all night remembering some of the lyrics. He stumbled through some words, paced nervously around the stage with mic in hand, and glanced at one of the three small screens by the monitors showing him the words to his songs. Then the guitar solo would come up and like magic it was all better. His fingers were all over, "shredding" like no one can but him. I realized I had a huge smile on my face, seeing the guitar legend that inspired me as a child to pick up a guitar for the first time. More familiar tunes followed. Galveston, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, and other memorable songs. His voice was still golden, sending chills down your spine when he would glide into phrase just like he had sung it years ago. "...but she'll just hear that phone keep on ringing...off the wall....that's all"
Then it continued, all the songs I remember and the crowd was mesmerized. He had considerable trouble on "Where's The Playground Susie" but I doubt anyone really cared at that point. He was having fun and even saying he would rather laugh about it. He even pulled of a good Mel Tillis impression commenting on how you can walk into a room and completely forget. His daughter Ashley came up front with the banjo and after some playful banter they went into Dueling Banjos. Glen answered perfectly on guitar, adding a little extra of course. Soon they were flying along and I actually think she was having trouble keeping up with him!
He did a couple songs from his new album and it was obvious that he was not nearly as comfortable doing those. Then he took a short break while Ashley and Shannon Campbell did a great version of "Hey Little One". When he returned to stage, wearing a different shirt (with rhinestones of course) he did a few more songs and when the first notes of Wichita Lineman sounded I knew it would soon be coming to an end. Next was Rhinestone Cowboy and although I tired of hearing that song on the radio in the 70's it never sounded more beautiful as it did hearing him sing it live. He got a standing ovation after both songs (Lineman and Rhinestone) then left the stage. It was set up for an encore, but for some reason I couldn't figure out what was left. When he came back out and the famous intro inspired by his old friend Jerry Reed started everyone in the place was tapping their foot and singing along to Southern Nights. They all lined up and took a bow after that and we all went home grateful that we had one last chance to see a legend.
The fact that he couldn't remember the words to a few songs wasn't really a big deal. We all remembered them for him. Thanks Glen.
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