Arlo Guthrie (with The Mammals), Merrill Auditorium, Portland, Maine, USA, November 19, 2005

Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Forty years ago the United States was in an undeclared war half a world away. Some young men were being drafted and sent to fight while others managed to find deferments. Protesters gathered to wave signs and express their frustration with what seemed like the ill-guided militarism of an administration out of touch with reality. Others waved the flag and called the protestors traitors. Sound familiar?

Not to say there aren't differences. No draft, for instance. Still, there are parallels aplenty. One area where there are similarities certainly is the way music and musicians have commented on the situation. Back then John Fogerty let us know he was no "Fortunate Son." Today he's experiencing "Deja Vu All Over Again." What better time for Arlo Guthrie to take to the road with the "Fortieth Anniversary Alice's Restaurant Massacree" tour?

So there we were, high up in the second balcony, watching the crowd fill the Merrill Auditorium. There were babes in arms along with their thirty-something parents, there were young singles and couples in their teens and twenties, there were, of course, boomers like us (and even a few true geezers). I was heartened and a bit surprised that the ratio of boomers was lower than might have been expected. The house was full.

The Mammals were an inspired opening act. They represent a third (fourth, tenth, hundredth?) generation of folkies. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ruth Unger, daughter of Jay & Molly, and Pete Seeger's grandson Tao Rodriguez are the most obvious examples of how nature and nurture can lead to the continuation of tradition. This should not be misunderstood. The Mammals are no exercise in nostalgia or academic preservation of 'authentic' folk music. They blend and bend styles, influences and material that range from the coffeehouses where one imagines them toddling about as kids while their elders played, to the D.I.Y. aesthetic of punk and rock clubs where they might have hung out as teens.

The Mammals knew how to warm up the crowd with "Hangman's Reel," a great, solid foot-stomping fiddle tune played in the American tradition. The response was immediate and the audience had a hard time being in a concert hall rather than a dance hall. The set progressed through traditional, original, and cover tunes. The mood moved from rocky and a bit electric to sweet and quiet, from love songs to political commentaries.

Their lullaby "The Bush Boys," inspired by the old song, "Hush Little Baby," is priceless. Band member Mike Merenda is always updating the verses to keep it current -- a busy task these days. Here's the chorus:

"Hush little baby don't you cry, Daddy's gonna buy you an alibi,
If that alibi don't work, Daddy's gonna bribe the County Clerk,
If that County Clerk don't bribe, Daddy's got Congress on his side,
If that Congress still don't budge, Daddy just don't love you enough."

Unfortunately, it looks like he'll have to keep writing for a while. They were singing to the right crowd on this night, with cheers and claps of support and expressions of mutual disgust at the political situation. A little comic relief is always helpful.

This group has a polished presentation with a good balance of moods, connection with the audience, and superb performance skills. Having seen them once before in a small hall, I was impressed that they were able to keep that living room feel even on a big stage, making the audience feel comfortable and a part of the family. Their set closed with another foot-stomper and prompted a standing ovation. Arlo couldn't have asked for a better set up. You can see photos from the tour on their web site.

With barely a moment to allow the crowd to stretch, Arlo and his pair of supporting musicians walked on the stage. Gordon Titcomb had already graced the stage, adding his pedal steel guitar to couple of The Mammals tunes. Arlo's son Abe stood behind a small electric keyboard. Arlo sat down, picked up his guitar and they were off. It was obvious that the trio enjoy playing together.

The first chunk of the set list read; "Watch the Desert Sun Go Down," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "House of the Rising Sun" (which included a very nice guitar solo from Arlo), "In My Darkest Hour."

They were performing well-known material rather than new songs. Some performers telegraph their boredom when this is the case. You can tell that they resent the perceived need to give the audience what they think they want. Arlo and company were clearly enjoying the laid back fun of working their way through a set of favorites. In other words, I got the notion Arlo loved playing and singing these tunes as much as his audience loved hearing them. He also showed what a great storyteller he is, offering little tales between tunes and wisecracking.

A lovely (newish) instrumental "Honolulu Farewell" led into Arlo telling some wonderfully funny and entertaining stories about flying and illicit substances before The Mammals returned to the stage. all eight musicians rocked out on "Coming into Los Angeles" to the delight of the crowded hall. A folk rock big band, hot damn! Abe opened up on the keys and showed that the Guthrie clan's contributions to folk music should continue for a while.

The Mammals departed and Arlo gave the spotlight to Gordon Titcomb who sang a song from his debut solo album. Then came the big highlight of the night: the 20 minute--maybe you remember when it was new--oh so absurd, with Officer Obie and “the twenty seven 8 x 10 color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows on the back of each one” tale of Alice's Restaurant. And it was good. And funny! And still way too timely.

After the audience joined in on the last chorus to Alice's Restaurant, The Mammals returned and the large ensemble worked its way through a hot bluegrass tune ("Red Wing" maybe?). Then, they were on to the finale, a rousing "This Land is Your Land" during which Arlo stopped in the middle and told a witty version of the biblical tale of Joseph. [In theater they say, if a gun gets put on the table in Act I, it better get fired before the final curtain. The little banjo ukulele that had been sitting on a stand all night was finally deployed. Whew!]

Brought back for a well-deserved encore, the whole ensemble first did a moving and--post-Katrina--especially poignant version of "City of New Orleans." Following that, they brought the evening to a gentle close with a song introduced only as one of the last ones Woody Guthrie wrote in the hospital before he died.

Arlo was at the top of his game; The Mammals, Gordon Titcomb and Abe Guthrie were all excellent; the crowd was diverse and appreciative. All in all, a marvelous evening.

[Christopher White & Barbara Truex]