Arlo Guthrie - Oct. 9

This was my second time seeing Arlo Guthrie at Jorgensen, and I think he was much better the first time.


(Sorry for the crappy photo from my phone. Maybe we can just consider the washed-out faces artsy.)

When he came to UConn my sophomore year, he was on tour with family members, but not the whole family like he was this time - my first year out of undergrad. Without the whole family, he was able to tell more stories and play more of his songs, including the big one: "Alice's Restaurant."

He didn't play "Alice's Restaurant" or even "The Motorcycle Song" this time, despite requests from the audience. In fact, he let his grandson sing some kind of John Mayer-style love song to a girl he loved to watch sleep. It would have been OK, if his family members didn't have to be his back-up singers. At least that was the only song he did.

The idea of a family tour was kind of weird. Yes, last time, he did have his children play as his back-up band. This time, though, his young grandchilren were brought out to sing songs for an upcoming children's album, and you could tell some of them didn't want to be there. Also, you could tell which daughter was the favorite because she smiled the most and laughed the hardest at all Arlo's jokes, while the other two were just there. Three years ago, the young children were just brought on stage to sing Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." They did that again this time, and then some.

The family aspect was a bit too much, and I think I'm good on seeing any Arlo Guthrie and family shows for a while.