Country Music News for the Country Music Enthusiast

Merle Haggard
February 26, 2004
Marquee Theatre
Tempe, AZ
Photos by Glenda S. Paradee

With his lyrical eloquence on topics ranging from heartache to politics, Merle Haggard's broad footprint on country music is inescapable. At 66, Haggard has no intention of packing it in - he's just started a nine-month tour.

Donning shades and a black jacket, Haggard stepped up to the mic at the Marquee Theatre on Thursday night and opened his set with ''Misery and Gin.'' With his voice and guitar play as crisp as ever, Haggard dazzled the crowd with some of his classics, but also delivered something fresh with ''Garbage Man'' and ''I Hate to See It Go'' off of his new album, ''Haggard Like Never Before.''

The bouncy piano play of Doug Colosio was answered by Don Markham's sulky saxophone in ''Stay Here and Drink'' - one of the early crowd favorites. The skillful fiddling of Scott Joss in ''Let Me Be Your Man'' was well-received. Haggard himself picked up a fiddle and began to saw on it. "I think I'll quit with this thing while I'm ahead" was Haggard's comment to his surprised fans. Throughout the evening, Haggard was playful with the boisterous crowd. He played "Rainbow Stew" when a fan yelled out for him to play it. After the song he said "I swore I wasn't going to do anything political," and it's only half way through the show. Of course, politics are a prevalent subject in Haggard's music. Haggard also sang ''Working Man's Blues.'' No song Thursday was more political than his patriotic signature, ''Okie from Muskogee,'' which he ended the night on. Haggard stopped a short way into the song and encouraged more of the crowd to sing along. He got what he asked for when nearly everyone got on their feet.

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Freda Paradee with Merle Glenda of Thanks For The Music with Merle