Jackson Browne Rises to the Challenge of Solo Acoustic Show

At the age of 35, I probably have been to over a hundred concerts. I have seen Pink Floyd, BB King, Stevie Wonder and many many more and I have never been as excited to see someone as I am to see Jackson Browne In Charleston WV.

I first saw Jackson Browne perform in the late 1970's in a gymnasium at Cal State Chico when I was about 18 years old. From that day forward, he became my poet laureate and remains so to this day as he does for many of my generation. Last night at the lovely Terrace Theater in Long Beach, CA, the packed house got nearly 3 hours of just Jackson, his guitars and piano. It was intimate, touching, funny, nostalgic and fresh all at the same time.

Our entourage of mostly middle aged ladies included one eleven year old with musical taste refined beyond her years and a sad and terrible paternal experience in her short life. From her 4th row seat she soaked up Mr. Browne’s poetry and charm as did the rest of the audience. His 60+ year old voice is still mostly clear and strong with a bit of raspiness here and there, kind of like the subtle streaks of gray in his shining mane of chin length brown hair. And then there are his eyes, green and blue at every turn, deep, thoughtful and intense set deeply into his chiseled face. There was a couple sitting next to me and the woman leaned over at one point and said to me: “He is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen…(next to my husband, of course.)” And so he is…just as I remember him from 30+ years ago when he headlined a show opened by a newbie named Jimmy Buffet and a relatively unknown at the time, Warren Zevon.

Tears flowed when he sang “For a Dancer”, “Sky Blue and Black”, and “The Pretender”. “Rosie” made me laugh and “Song for Adam” made me cry once again. The flood of memories of a youth that seemed so recent and all the years in between that got us there last night, made me thank God that Jackson Browne was granted the gift of longevity. He is as relevant today as he ever was, perhaps more so. From his electric car down to the ban on plastic water bottles at his shows (there are Brita water machines set up in the lobbies to fill guest’s non-plastic drinking bottles). The man is no pretender when it comes to walking the walk and practicing what he preaches.

I realized again how much of his journey reflected my own as I recalled my work with No Nukes organizations in my 20’s and with Native Americans thereafter. Not to sound cliché, but his work truly is a soundtrack for who I’ve come to be. His is the voice of the “Everyman” in my orbit; personal, political and more important….human. He’s off to Tucson tomorrow to perform with an array of other artists in an effort to promote civility in the aftermath of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the memory of those who died that day. To my way of thinking, he is an artist in the true sense of the word, using his gifts and position to raise awareness beyond the mundane and ordinary, aspiring toward a spiritual realm where hope and dreams remain possible.

After the show I was lucky enough to actually shake his hand and thank him for his work. I’d met him several years before at an after party in Santa Barbara where I stood off to the side after being cut off by zealous fans oblivious to anyone else who might wish to have a word with their idol. Mr. Browne took note of that and excused himself from the zealots and made his way toward me for an introduction and a pleasant conversation about some mutual friends and shared experiences. He looks you right in the eye when he speaks to you and puts you at ease long enough to carry on a coherent conversation before you step away with the realization that you just spoke to one of the ten people you’d want to meet in heaven. It was late last night and he was tired but as he headed toward his car with girlfriend Diana Cohen, he said hello to the fans, loaded his electric vehicle and came over and shook hands with the 10-15 people there. He graciously posed for a photo with our 11 year old guest who remarked on how cool it would be to have a dad like Jackson Browne. Another generation is being reached…let’s hope Mr. Browne has “miles to go before he sleeps.”

This article is a terrible read; I have read it twice now and have no idea what I've read. I was really looking forward to reading about Jackson Brown solo as I am a solo act and was hoping for some 'insight' but instead found a lot of words just thrown on a page that go nowhere.