Sixth & I: A full report

Seeing Kris perform at the Historic Sixth & I Synagogue was well worth a flight in from Indiana and hours of waiting in chilly weather for good seats.

With portable chairs, a battery-powered boombox and a full collection of Kris CDs in hand, we arrived a little after 10 a.m. That was about nine hours before doors would open for the general admission show and well before we needed to be there. But, despite a wind chill that hovered around freezing, we had a good time seeing other Kris fans, chatting with a police officer assigned to the event and even meeting Kris when he came out to shake hands and sign autographs.

And after such a long wait, the show didn't disappoint. I tried to keep track of the setlist, and even took note of some of Kris' comments, though there's probably a few songs I missed. But here it is, mostly correct:

- Shipwrecked in the '80s [Kris, to loud applause, said 'this goes out to the veterans of Vietnam and Iraq opposing the war in Iraq.' He also flashed a smile when an audience member yelled out 'so long Tonto' like he does on the version on Repossessed.]
- Darby's Castle
- Me and Bobby McGee
- Best of All Possible Worlds ['I wrote this a long time ago,' Kris joked after singing the 'there's still a lot of wine and lonely girls' line. He started to do the harmonica solo at the end, realized he had the wrong one on and then said 'If I was Roger Miller, I'd think of a great scat to go out on. But I'm not, so I'll just quit,' finishing the song right then.]
- In the News [Kris, apparently with a cold, joked after this one about how everyone had paid to see a concert and ended up seeing 'an old fart blow his nose.']
- Here Comes That Rainbow Again [Kris dedicated this one to Johnny Cash, telling how Cash' autobiography reveals it was his favorite Kris song.]
- Johnny Lobo
- Help Me Make It Through The Night
- Casey's Last Ride [Kris dedicated this one to Edward Wisemiller, his creative writing professor at Pomona College. Wisemiller, 93, is apparently sick. 'I want to send out good prayers for him if you all are into that,' Kris said. 'He got me a Rhodes Scholarship and a lot of things I didn't deserve.']
- Nobody Wins [Kris joked about George Bush and Dick Cheney singing this to each other in the shower.]
- The Heart
- From Here to Forever
- They Killed Him
- Loving Her Was Easier

INTERMISSION

- Jesus Was A Capricorn ['It ain't Dylan, but it's all we got.']
- Sister Sinead [This was the only unrecorded song played all night. After it was finished, Kris mentioned how it was written about Sinead O'Connor at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary concert in 1992, during which she tore up a photo of the pope and caused a huge uproar. He then said 'I mention Dylan so many times because he's my hero.' As an aside, the Washington Post apparently does not approve of Kris performing this song and seems to have decided that there were 'befuddled' audience members who didn't appreciate Kris straying even the slightest from his classics. I didn't see these people.]
- Duvalier's Dream
- Just the Other Side of Nowhere [Kris got a few laughs when he stuck in 'Not D.C.' following one of the lines in this one.]
- Jody & the Kid
- The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 [Kris said how Johnny Cash thought he had written this song about him. Someone in the audience shouted out 'did you?' to which Kris replied Cash was one of many people it was about.]
- To Beat the Devil
- This Old Road [Kris seemed very pleased when, by the end of this song, the audience was singing the 'Ain't you come a long way home' refrain with him.]
- The Promise
- The Final Attraction
- Sunday Morning Comin' Down
- The Silver Tongued Devil & I

ENCORE

- For the Good Times
- Love is the Way
- Moment of Forever
- Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends

Like I said, there may be one or two songs missed or mis-ordered in there, but that's a pretty accurate rundown of a great performance.
As always - whether from this show or any other on tour - send your photos, videos, thoughts, reviews, etc. to glesnick@gmail.com and I'll publish them here.