Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to get paid to listen to music.
After reviewing hundreds of shows over the years, and taking in probably a thousand more on my own time, you start to feel like you've seen and heard it all.
But then Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson come to town and remind you that a concert, at its best, can transcend entertainment and be a landmark life experience. Walking out of the Potawatomi Northern Lights Theater after two hours with the country legends felt more like having laid eyes on the Grand Canyon for the first time than taking in some music.
I have been a huge Haggard fan all my life. I think he had a greatest hits tape that my mom must have played until it exploded growing up. My Hag T-shirt is my most prized possession and I have worn it so much and for so long that it's grown paper thin. It means so much to me that I had to violate the age-old rule of not wearing the shirt of the musician you are going to see that night.
So there I stood awash in joy as the two country legends, dressed all in black and backed by Haggard's band, the Strangers, traded songs from each other's catalogs and slapping an ear to ear smile on my face.
If you haven't experienced a show at the Northern Lights yet you need to get on it. It is an incredible venue. The sound is impeccable and you feel right on top of the stage no matter where you are sitting.
And Kristofferson and Haggard made the most of their surroundings and delivered a show I will replay in my mind for years to come.
Kristofferson fought through some vocal issues that somehow actually enhanced his already weathered croon, while Haggard's voice seemed ageless.
They played some songs, Merle delivering sturdy renditions of "Mama Tried," "Okie From Muskogee" and "Folsom Prison Blues" and Kristofferson providing a tender counterpoint with sparse takes on "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Shipwrecked in the Eighties."
The two cracked jokes and told stories and I had to pinch myself at times to make sure it was happening.
It was the first of two sold-out shows and if you didn't get tickets it wouldn't be unreasonable to quit your job and drive to wherever you can see them, because that was about as good as it gets.
If you can't do that people have posted plenty of video from prior appearances to YouTube like the one below that are worth checking out.
