by Lloyd » Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:36 pm
It had been twelve years since I last saw The Killer at Harrah’s Casino in Cherokee N.C. He had performed two shows in two nights and I had attended both driving the two hours back and forth from Knoxville because of a lack of hotel rooms that weekend. Even though I got to meet and talk with Jerry after the second show (which is a highlight none of us ever forget) the shows were probably the weakest of the thirty or so concerts of his that I have attended before and since. On those nights he looked and acted tired, disinterested and on auto-pilot.
What a difference a decade makes....and for the better!
Vocally, Jerry sounded more rested, stronger and crisper than I have heard him in quite a while. No forgotten words. Full songs and great effort.
“Down the Line” kicked off the Killers's part of the show. In recent years It's always great to see the relief in the faces of the crowd and hear their enthusiasm when Jerry's piano begins its familiar pumping sound. No doubt many in the audience worried if this old man can make it thru a show. Just a few seconds into “Down the Line” and the answer was loud and clear to everyone in the packed house.
Speaking of loud and clear, several on the forum have mentioned problems with the piano key and Jerry himself commented "What do you expect it's a Yamaha...you would think they would know how to do it by now". Yet I must say, problems or not with sticking keys, the piano was mixed the way one should be for JLL. Way up front, loud and powerful.
The second song, “You Win Again” was a masterpiece. Jerry nailed it perfectly from the singing to the playing. They need a video of that performance in every studio in Nashville and when a young, know it all punk waltzes in claiming to be a country singer, put it on, let him watch and say "Okay, match that".
The highlight of the show for me was a surprise Johnny B. Goode played like the version on “The Session”, perhaps Jerry's best piano solo of the night
Something I noticed that the "Bounce" was back in the Killer's hands on the rockin' numbers. From three-quarters of the way back in the hall I could see those magic hands pumping up and down.
Jerry's mood was very light. Once when an audience member screamed "We love you Jerry" He immediately shot back "I love you too" then added "I looked at myself in the mirror the other day and loved myself".
Toward the end of the evening J.W. Brown and Son were brought on stage to play and Jerry teased the next song a bit than launched into GBOF. It was a great version but the original. I must admit I have grown to prefer the movie extended version. The first notes of WLOS brought the house down and Jerry did not disappoint. No flying stools or piano playing standing up but he did not need to on this night. Twelve years since his last visit to Cherokee, the Great Smokey Mountains were just a little smokier after the Ferriday Fireball had set them ablaze.
Lloyd Daugherty