September 18th 2006

So the big day arrives. I put on the Rolling Stones shirt I've worn for the past few shows, load up my bag and Ronnie and I head out to the Riverwalk Amphitheater.

It's been cool the last few days but that luck doesn't hold out for today. Instead we get a blistering heat. But we had fun regardless.

The day starts out with Hank Williams Sr.'s former pedal steel player Don Helms. He's teamed up with a young singer named Chris Malpass who sings Hank Williams tunes while he plays the steel guitar. Good stuff.

Next was an Alabama native named Andy Norman.

Afterwards Ray Price took the stage. He's 80 years old and looking a bit weary, but his voice was great and he put on a good show. Towards the end of Ray Price's set, Willie came out of nowhere and grabbed a mic to sing a few lines. Ray seemed just as surprised as everyone else. Speaking of which... a little trivia... Ray recorded a Willie song before anyone knew who Willie was, the song being "Night Life". Willie also played bass in Ray's band for a little while.

After Ray left the stage they started preparing for Willie. I think the story is that Willie fit this into his schedule as a favor and because of that had to drive up plug in and play and then leave. They had a tight control over anyone getting to talk or see him before or afterwards. So we were asked to leave the area around his bus.

so I walked back to the stage and there, sitting unattended, was Willie's guitar. So... I took a couple of minutes to try and photograph it and study all the dings and markings. It was quite interesting. (Check out the photos and view them large!)

Soon after they ushered EVERYONE to the opposite side of the stage and a few minutes later, Willie took the stage. I picked my spot and stayed there for a while, snapping away. I kept trying to get a picture of Willie's sister Bobbie, but from where I was at, I couldn't get a clear shot.

Now, at every other concert I've shot for, I have the freedom to roam around, at least for the first few songs. Not tonight. I moved around to the other side to get a shot and promptly got escorted off the stage for not having the right pass... which... I did have the right pass. Long story short, I snuck back on... got caught again... the promoter bailed me out and gave the security a few harsh words and I just went back to my original position and didn't move a muscle LOL. I enjoyed the show from that position though. But I didn't get all the shots I wanted... Oh well.

Afterwards, Willie walked off and the bus pulled away. No photograph with him, no handshake, no autograph. Bummer.

Epilogue:
I later found out that the manager regretted our treatment backstage and said that Willie would have gladly taken some photos with us had he himself or the manager known what was going on. Sadly Willie got pulled over in Louisiana and busted for 1.2 lbs of pot and .5 lbs of Mushrooms. I wonder if a disgruntled person backstage had some pull with the Louisiana State Police?