Kris Kristofferson is 76 years old. That fact needs to be kept in mind when watching him these days as he tours to promote his latest album "Feeling Mortal." In last night's performance at the Tarrytown Music Hall he fell victim to this cold wet weather we've been having and croaked through one song after another for two hours. Maybe I'm being hard on the man. The fact that he lasted over two hours and sounded stronger at the end is a testament to the strength of his performance. I can't think of too many performers who would have even gone on with a frog in their throat. But Kristofferson knows his adoring fans and when after about twenty minutes he apologized for his voice, adding, "You know what I sound like," he got a rousing ovation.
At one point he was joined by one of his daughters whose name I didn't catch. I came into the theatre earlier in the evening while he was still running through a sound check and when she came out with her banjo and they did a number I was thinking she must be his granddaughter, but his daughter? Really? I'm speechless.
At the end of the evening the crowd was on its feet bringing him out for an encore. I thought that was a bit cruel considering the difficulty he'd had throughout the evening, but when he came back out he seemed re-energized by their enthusiasm and after his final number he came to the edge of the stage, working his way from one side to the other shaking hands with a bunch of 60-somethings that acted like they were still kids going to their first concert.
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote, "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Kristofferson has lived an amazing life with numerous albums and movie appearances. He's won award after award. You might think at 76 he'd lay back and take it easy but last night he showed no signs of giving up. Maybe it's the applause and adoration that drives him. Whatever it is, he's singlehandedly pushing back the border of old age. God bless and more power to him.
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