http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville ... an-10-4-14Jerry Lee Lewis w/Linda Gail Lewis at the Ryman, 10/4/14
Posted By The Spin on Mon, Oct 6, 2014 at 1:17 PM

Just five days after his birthday, Jerry Lee Lewis — possessor of a “God-given” talent and the original rock ’n’ roll wild child — came to the Ryman to preach the gospel of rock ’n’ roll to the true believers he has gathered across the decades. But with 79 chronological years upon this mortal coil, and decades of extra hard-livin’ added to the total, could the Killer still rock on? There seemed little doubt from the eager and excited audience that filled the pews of the Mother Church of Country Music on Saturday night.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., the big, red curtains on the Ryman stage parted and revealed the Memphis Beats, or whatever name Jerry Lee’s road band is going by these days. While there were no “superstar” sideman on the stage as with his 2011 Nashville appearance at Third Man Records (which included Stax guitar legend Steve Cropper and Greenhornes/ Dead Weather/Raconteurs bassman Jack Lawrence), it was a solid lineup of long-time Killer sidemen. Jerry Lee’s perennial bandleader and anchor of musical sanity, Kenny Lovelace, kicked off the set with a smokin’ version of the Little Richard fave “Slippin’ and Slidin’.” Veteran Memphis Beats lead guitarist Buck Hutchinson provided the hot guitar licks, and experienced players Ray Gann and Robert Hall supplied the rhythm on bass and drums respectively.
The band warmed up the crowd with a few rock and country classics before bringing little sister Linda Gail Lewis onstage. Linda Gail proved that she can stand outside of her sibling’s long shadow with her own brand of piano-pumpin’ powerhouse rock ’n’ roll, continuing the set with more big beat standards like “Rip It Up” and “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” The Killerette also extended the family act by introducing her daughter, Annie Marie Dolan-Lewis, with a spotlight number and a pair of mama-daughter gospel duets thrown down in the sanctified boogie style that resulted in big bro’s expulsion from the Southwestern Bible Institute six decades back.
With the crowd musically lubricated, the big curtains closed in preparation for the arrival of Jerry Lee. After a brief intermission, Linda Gail gave an intro and plug for Jerry Lee’s new album and the new bio by Rick Bragg. Next came a short and pretty unneeded documentary giving a quick recap of the Ferriday Fireball’s career. It’s safe to say that the crowd of bit-champers eagerly awaiting the show knew all they needed to know about the Killer.
As the video ended, the curtains parted and the band kicked in with the Roy Orbison-penned Sun Records classic “Down the Line.” The Killer was revealed, already seated at the piano, looking older and frailer than one might expect, even from his 79 natural years. He soon defied the decades of hard livin’ with his voice and fingers. Ripping his way through the tune, Lewis' vocals seemed a little shaky at first and his long-standing tradition of outracing his rhythm section only added to the chaos.
Judging by the reaction to the first tune, the audience was jumping on board, even if he was still stoking up the firebox of the old Jerry Lee locomotive. He still knew how to grab the crowd by knocking out one of his longtime country favorites, “You Win Again.” Hank Williams’ tale of wifely woes presented the first opportunity of the evening for Lewis to inject himself into lyrics via his trademark third person mention of “old Jerry Lee,” a trick that never fails to get rousing approval from the crowd. Whatever shakiness in tempo and voice, there was nothing lacking in Jerry Lee’s piano playing as his fingers did their work on the 88s, seemingly unfettered by their decades of use. He continued to unfurl classic numbers — “Little Queenie,” “C.C. Rider” and the more recent favorite, “Before the Night Is Over.” By the time he made it to the halfway point of the set with a full blown whoop-ass take of “Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee,” the Killer’s firebox was fully stoked and he was balling the jack.
With the crowd indoctrinated to the gospel of rock ’n’ roll, the Killer continued to play with them like a master angler. Letting the line out on country and soul numbers (“She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Put No Headstone on My Grave” and “I Wish I Was 18 Again”) and then jerking it tight with the classic crowd-pleasing rockers (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and a show-closing version of “Great Balls of Fire”).
As the last chorus of Lewis' sexual hellfire and brimstone Götterdämmerung came to a close, the big red curtains closed, only to open again briefly for a final bow. In that fleeting glimpse of the Killer, his posture displayed a fragility that had not been apparent only seconds before. The curtains closed quickly, allowing Jerry Lee to exit under cover. For 50 minutes the Killer gave his all. Mere mortals age and decline, trapped in bodies of earthly frailty, but legends always stride tall.