Merle Haggard

Johnny Cash once said to Merle Haggard, "You're the man people think I am." Indeed, The Man in Black became the icon of the outlaw, but as Johnny was performing "Folsom Prison Blues" to an audience of early 1960s inmates in San Quentin, Merle was watching...from the audience.

Often told by himself and his fans, the real story of Merle Haggard is more compelling than even Cash's, which we all saw Joaquin Phoenix capture brilliantly on the silver screen. Dust bowl immigrants, Haggard's family lived near poverty in a rusted old boxcar outside Bakersfield. At age 9, his father died of stroke and for the next 15 years 'Hag' went wild, running in and out of juvenile hall, honky tonks and ultimately jail.

Five marriages, 40 number one hits and dozens of awards later one of the greats of country music graced the stage at the Arlington Theater Thursday night, thanks to the UCSB Arts & Letters program.

Santa Barbara has never openly embraced country music. Down the road in Ventura and up north in Santa Maria a gritty country lovin' crowd can be garnered with the snap of fingers. But in SB a rare act rolls through: Willie Nelson and Clint Black come to mind in recent years, but that is all.

So, it wasn't entirely a surprise that the crowd did not reflect that 'Santa Barbara.' Sure, there were some typical crunchy granola types, but mostly a plaid shirt, silver-haired crowd politely and quietly awaited the show's beginning.

The patio bar was another story. A much younger crowd, just in town for the evening, or maybe taking a night off from line dancing at the Creekside (Santa Barbara's only true haunt to country music), it was a chain-smokin, wrangler sportin', cougar community with a smattering of tattoos and cowboy hats.

Chris and Taylor Malpass

The show began with a pleasant short set from brothers Chris and Taylor Malpass. Young, tall and handsome, this duo of strong voice and their crack band played it straight, with great renditions of old classics from the Hag himself and Bob Wills, with the highlight being Hank Williams' incredible "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." Harkening back to the Grand Ole Opry era of sequins and nice shirts, these boys warmed the crowd nicely.

When Haggard finally took the stage he kicked off with the rollicking "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink." Then he broke into White Line Fever, which strikes right at the heart of where Merle Haggard, 72, is in 2009:

White Line Fever
A sickness born down deep within my soul
White Line Fever
The years keep flyin' by like the highline poles
The wrinkles in my forehead show the miles I've put behind me
They continue to remind how fast I'm growin' old
Guess I'll die with this fever in my soul
I wonder just what makes a man keep pushing on
What makes me keep on hummin' this old highway song
I've been from coast to coast a hundred times before
I ain't found one single place where I ain't been before
White Line Fever
A sickness born down deep within my soul
White Line Fever
The years keep flyin' by like the highline poles

Merle Haggard and his crack band the Strangers didn't disappoint his fan base, playing many of the semiautobiographical songs that have made him a legend, including "Mama Tried," and "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive." The always pleasant "Silver Wings" and some new songs, he says found only on his website as radio won't play him anymore) show that time hasn't counted out his writing skills.

Haggard's view of the world is ultimately in sharp contrast to his friend and mentor Cash, who talked often of the downtrodden, and those in need. Haggard views life through the blue collar values of hard work, integrity and a plainspoken view of things. Like "Workin' Man Blues," "Okie from Muskogee" (written about his daddy), his words are infused with a deep sense of loyalty to America and its traditions.

This becomes melancholy at times, no more so than in "Are The Good Times Really Over (I Wish A Buck Was Still Silver)" when he laments:

Wish a buck was still silver.
It was, back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis; before the Vietnam war came along.
Before The Beatles and "Yesterday",
When a man could still work, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
Are the good times really over for good?
Are we rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell?

That hardscrabble vantage has made him popular with conservatives for decades, which might explain why the crowd was thin in Santa Barbara, not even close to a sell out. "The Fightin' Side of Me" could have been written for today's wars and not Vietnam:

I hear people talkin' bad,
About the way we have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight,
An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides,
An' standin' up for things they believe in.
When they're runnin' down my country, man,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

But Haggard is not that simple to define. Indeed, a poignant moment of rapport with his audience underscored the lunacy of wars - old and new. Someone yelled "Sign me up Merle!" and his reply, "Sign me up for what? To go to war?"

Overall it was a lighthearted affair. When he first introduced his band, he said, "Now I'd like to introduce my band, The Strangers." Then all 9 of them turned to each other and shook hands amongst another, as if meeting for the first time.

Having played together for years, The Strangers are top-notch musicians. The fiddle, slide guitar and horns fill out the basic bar band honky tonk sound. And it's become a family affair, with his sons playing lead guitar (Noel or Ben, who both play at different times). To the delight of many, Merle also picked up a fiddle and jammed to the Wills written swing classic "Take Me Back To Tulsa."

As a newcomer, it's easy to under appreciate the magnitude of Merle Haggard. He's not a colorful showman, like his kindred spirits Willie and Johnny. He plays it low-key and straight. No doubt his natural element to play would be an unassuming yet noisy long neck roadhouse.

But listen to him on CD, and the nuance and talent emerge. His vocal phrasing, the timeless lyrics, the unmistakable sound of his twangy Fender Telecaster, and subtle twists in the country music and western swing beat are all there to rich effect.

He certainly is a living legend, and his influence on country music is gargantuan. An example last night was "Kern River," Merle's classic about life and death in the Central Valley. Emmylou Harris made it her own hit. And he pioneered the California-roots sound that rocker Dave Alvin has capitalized upon in recent years.

If you like Merle Haggard, see him while you can. Even icons like Merle and Willie (76!) don't live forever. With a successful outcome from a bout with lung cancer last year he has emerged for the long haul. So stop by the new roadhouse over the hill, the Chumash Casino, when he drops by next April. You won't be disappointed.