Kris Kristofferson passed away recently and I started to think about what I knew him from and how I got to know him as an artist.
I had always liked his acting choices- Convoy, Heaven's Gate, (of course) Star is Born, Silver City, Lonestar, Blade Trilogy (don't judge, I really like those movies), and Big Top Pee Wee. In his younger days he could really rock an unbuttoned shirt and his quiet demeanor made him a kick ass vampire hunter.
To me he is in the Sam Elliot catagory of acting- interesting on screen to watch and always with a little shadow of mystery surrounding them.
For his music besides writing "Me and Bobby McGee," I really didn't know much about his music.
The Highwaymen was my first introduction really (besides his songs in Star is Born) and though I was a little late to the party I kind of got it. I watched a PBS concert fundraiser drive thing and it was really good. I saw that he was playing with the pros and killing it. I ended up purchasing their music, but not delving into his discography. I liked the collaboration, but at the time wasn't interested in going deeper into their individual catalogs.
I got my undergraduate degree through a weekend program. Once a month I would have class for 16 hours. I had a friend in my class who I ate lunch with and got to know really well. Side note- sad that we lost touch, I really liked this person. Anywho, she and I were sitting eating our lunch at some cafe on Valencia Street and we were talking about amazing shows we had seen and she mentioned that one of her most memorable was Kris Kristofferson at the Great American Music Hall. The show sounded amazing and I always kept that information in the back of my mind.
Life traveled on and I would see him on venue calendars now and again, but it was never the right time.
I was in grad school and broke (his tickets tended to be a bit pricey), I was not in grad school still kind of broke and other shows looked more interesting to attend, had a baby and what limited free time I had Kris Kristofferson wasn't on the menu. This was until he was on the bill of the Roadshow Revival. It was a Johnny Cash revival type festival in Ventura. The bill was The Blasters, Lee Rocker, X, and Kris Kristofferson. It is no secret that I am a super fan of X (and a pretty big fan of the Blasters) so even though I was 7 months pregnant I was still game to go to the show see bands I love and FINALLY get to see Kris Kristofferson. I had missed out on seeing Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings (have seen Willie a few times), so I was excited to cross Kristofferson off the must see list.
Holy cow. What a boring show. He stopped a song to start it over SLOWER than it how they had started it. He kind of mumble sang his lyrics. The band was uninteresting and the highlight was when some para-gliders passed by behind the stage. My hope is that we got him on a super off night. I can't blame it on my very swollen ankles because the mood around us while we were watching was "what the hell is going on?"
It was such a boring and lackluster show that I have never forgotten it. The unmemorable-ness has made it memorable to me and the husband. The set seemed super long and also only like 4 songs. Kris Kristofferson created his own vortex that the crowd fell into and was only released when he had to retune his guitar and play a different song? I dunno. It was sure something.
Thanks Kris Kristofferson.
