Tom Paxton: Redemption Road
Pax Records CD
Just released this week, I picked up my copy at a Tom Paxton/Janis Ian concert last Sat. night. Janis Ian was fantastic, but unfortunately Tom's performance was not up to the standard that we have come to expect. One of the hallmarks of a Paxton show was always the feeling you got that there was not a thing in the world that he would have rather been doing at the moment. He always had fun on staged and it showed. Last Sat I just got the feeling that he would have rather been home on the couch watching TV. His normal enthusiasm was gone and replaced by what I felt was an attitude of "let's just get this done." In addition to is demeanor on stage even the selection of songs that he played was kind of down and dreary, lacking the kind of satirical songs that he is best known for.
But heck, Tom is now 77 years old and just last summer lost his wife of 50+ years. He recently announced that he will be playing out his current scheduled concerts and then be retiring form the road. I can now understand why as he just looked burnt out, but being the trooper that he is he will honor his existing commitments before packing it in.
Rather than being upset by the lackluster performance (although we did have a good time as Janis Ian was outstanding and really carried the show,) I felt more sadness than anything else as I was watching someone who had enjoyed his work so much in the past (I have seen litereally dozens of Paxton shows over the past 35 years) and had just lost the spark and looked so down and out. Having lost my own wife not so many years ago I know all to well what he is going through and wish him all the best as he takes the time to heal and move on.
Although he is retiring from touring per se, he did say on his web site that he will continue to do occasional shows here and there and I can only hopethat as a long time Long Island resident some of those occasions will take place up here.
