Kris Kristofferson

I could not have been more in awe had I been in the presence of Jesus Christ himself.

Magnificent man, magnificent show.

Those who know me to be a severely unemotional man will be amazed to learn that I had tears trickling down my cheeks a few times during his performance. Not a flood, just enough to express my gratitude (involuntarily) at the words this man has written, the beautiful music he has created, the strong emotions his songs elicit.

He is 82. A bit frail. I kept thinking this might be the last time I ever see him, but I had to shake that thought from my mind because it would have distracted from the simple beauty this man delivers to my soul.

He sang in an understated way, very low key. But he is still Kris Kristofferson, a man worthy of any thinking man's respect. He was backed by Merle Haggard's long time backing band so it was obvious that there were real musicians on that stage. And Merle Haggard's son is in the band - he sang and holy shit, he sounded so much like Merle. The crowd went crazy for him.

There were a few songs he sang that the audience joined in on. This blew me away, knocked me right down. This was an older audience, a seemingly conservative New Hampshire audience shedding their inhibitions to sing along with Kris Kristofferson. He loved it - he really reacted to it - clapped his hand over his heart to show his gratitude. I was among the singers.

"Sunday Morning Coming Down". One of my favorite Kristofferson songs. Of course that's like me saying one of my favorite Allman Brothers songs, or favorite Beatles songs. It's ridiculous, I love all of Kris Kristofferson's songs.

A lot of people sang along with that one. I always say Kris has a remarkable way of capturing pure emotion, describing a mood perfectly. That song is a premier example. Go to YouTube right now and listen to it and tell me afterwards you did not feel the loneliness of an alone morning as if you were the last person on earth.

That song slays me. Every single time. Every single fucking time.

Take a minute to check out "Here Comes That Rainbow Again". Kris describes a very small scene in some very small lives in a way that makes you shout "yeah!!!!!!" at the end.

He played two sets. I wish I was still there. But I experienced the night perfectly. I have learned over the years to control my emotions to a certain extent in certain situations. Used to be in a setting like that I would be so emotional for so long I would "miss" half the concert.

I did get a tad choked up when he first walked out and it took a few minutes to rein in my emotions. After that I opened up my soul and let Kris Kristofferson walk right in. Jesus Christ, what a night.

Music is me and I am music. Gotta have it, can't live without it. There are many people I worship, many people who save my life with their music. I tend to be very partial to people who are good with words, who write mind blowing lyrics.

Kris Kristofferson is King. I love the man. I respect him. I appreciate him. I have seen him three times and I cherish each and every one of those concerts. I will never forget last Thursday night.

Never.