Up close and personal with Kris Kristofferson
Like the wrath of Eskom, the lights went out in the Carnival City Big Top Arena on Saturday night, carefully placed spotlights took centre stage and the crowd settled down – well, sort of.
No fuss. Music superstar Kris Kristofferson and his guitar strolled in and started singing. Whoever thought we’d see him in Brakpan?
So what a delight it was for (what I estimated to be) 2 000-plus East Randers to be able to fill the arena to the rafters, endure the bum-ache of the miniscule sardine seats and see a legend at work.
Fifty years after this son of Texas recorded his first offerings for Top Rank Records as Kris Carson, Kristofferson by now must be used to the adulation. It didn’t show and he seemed enchanted by his reception in this out-of-the-way corner of a foreign shore.
Occasionally consulting what looked like a scrap of paper on a side table, he mingled lesser-known songs with old favourites as he segued seamlessly through an obviously accustomed repertoire. Only a change in chords alerted his audience to the switch in lyrics.
The opening bars of the on-demand “Me and Bobby McGee” (which he wrote in 1970) saw a predominantly wrinkly gathering go wild. “Casey’s Last Ride”, “Loving Her Was Easier”, “Darby’s Castle” and others had them wanting to sing along but not sure if they should. Still, some tried.
Kristofferson claims the poetry of his songs was influenced by William Blake during his time as a Rhode’s Scholar at Merton College, Oxford. Which he left in 1960 with a BPhil in English literature (by then he already had BA summa cum laude from Pomona College in the States). Whatever it was, they are a bittersweet joy to listen to.
On Saturday he looked a little lonely on the stage and, at times, his characteristic gravelly voice seemed not as rich as expected. And, at 77 years of age, he was entitled to the occasional off-key vocal shenanigans.
The hoots and hollers of glee that greeted him proved it didn’t matter – he was among friends.
Regrettably, many younger readers might not be familiar with his musical work but ask them about any of his nearly 100 movies and they can place him immediately.
For the aficionados, Saturday was a rare chance to get up close and personal.
