monday, august 28, 1978
page 18
daily nebraskan
arts and entertainment
Jennings attracts cosmic cowboys
Despite the sage country advice of Way
Ion Jennings, apparently a lot of mama's
have let their babies grow up to be cow
boys. At least 4,000 of them, cowboys in
mind if not body, came to hear 01' Waylon
sing his homespun country tales at last
Friday's Pershing Auditorium appearance.
But despite the frequent presence of
Stetsons, and bottles of Jack Daniels, the
audience was a diverse mixture of young
and old, men and women, and white and
blue collar workers, representing the
unique status Jennings has achieved as the
king of a new wave of popular country
music.
At first subdued but appreciative, the
crowd was warmed up by a set from fellow
"outlaw" Jessi Colter, and The Waylers, a
back up group of experienced country mu
sicians who also share the stage with
Waylon.
Popular country
Adept at playing in pure country fash
ion, both Colter and the band showed abil
ity to cross over to a more popular country
vein -The Waylers, with tunes like Elton
John's "Ballad of A Well Known Gun,"
and The Band's "The Weight", and Colter
with "I'm Not Lisa," the whining country
ballad that saw Top 40 success a few years
back.
Top 40 success has also brought Waylon
Jennings to more ears and eyes lately.
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Photographs by
Ted Kirk
Story by Casey McCabe
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though his loyal following goes back much
further than his recent surge in the popular
market.
Many of his devotees apparently were
in attendance an opening chord was all
they needed to recognize an old favorite,
resulting in whoops and hollers of pure
cowboy joy.
Cheers, cowboy hats
Jennings opened with a stylized remake
of Neil Young's "Are You Ready For The
Country?" and assuming the audience was,
went on with tales of drinkin', women,
hard livin' and country compatriot Willie
Nelson. The mere mention of Texas and
honky tonks by Waylon brought cheers
and cowboy hats in the air from the now
substantially livened crowd.
"This Time" showed Waylon at his best
capacity for combining talents, with bla
tant country and western lyrics, and the
hardest guitar lines of the night. By this
time even those older cowboys and cow
girls in the audience were starting to stomp
and holler. Some admitted it was their first
encounter with a "rock-style" concert.
Best for last
Like a wise showman, Jennings saved
the most popular of his repertoire for the
finale. Starting with his first breakthrough
hit, "Good Hearted Woman", a song he ob
viously directed to his own lifestyle, he
followed with "Mama's Don't Let Your
Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys",
"Luckenbach Texas", and finished with his
best work, "Are You Sure Hank Done It
This Way?"
The song paints a picture of Jennings in
duction to Nashville and the country music
workd, and makes a statement on its
curious evolution since Hank Williams
brought it out of relative obscurity in the
1950s.
At the end of the song, the crowd gave
Jennings a full-scale standing ovation.
Some left their reserved seats and began
working their way up the aisles. The clap
ping and foot-stomping which successfully
got him back for an encore, literally
thundered through the auditorium which
had been concertless this summer.
Non-cowboys, too
In one song, Jennings sings "I don't
look the way a normal cowboy looks,"
which is true. But with the new popularity
his music is enjoying, Waylon Jennings is
proving you don't have to be a cowboy to
like country and western music.
The couple at the souvenir booth pon
dering whether they could use a Waylon
Pick-Up Truck Sunscreen on their 280-Z,
is just another case in point.
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