March 14, 1995
Folk Singer Richie Havens played for a packed Jack Adams Hall Friday night, entertaining the crowd with songs of politics, freedom and love.
"We've been on tour since December 1967," Havens said, as he sat down to begin the show. "It's been a long tour."
Since his appearance at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in 1969, Havens' live performances have been celebrated by fans and critics alike.
Friday's show was no exception.
His spirited on-stage character and his charismatic storytelling kept the audience wanting more.
He opened the show with a story about a "weird guy" who lived in a big white house. "One day this guy pissed me off, so I wrote a song about him," he said. "His name was Richard Nixon."
Havens followed with his own, "Nobody Left to Crown," which drew a shower of applause from the audience.
Havens, known for his unique "open-E" style of guitar playing and his deep, baritone voice, is heralded as the premiere interpreter for such legendary folk artists as Bob Dylan and Woodie Guthrie.
In his show, Havens sang a stunning version of Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" and Dylan's "Just Like A Woman."
As the concert came to an end, Havens sang his trademark, "Freedom." His loud, rhythmic strumming coupled with his cries of "Freedom, Freedom," drew attention and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Havens and his unique musical style first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York City during the early '60s and after years of playing in coffee shops and small clubs, eventually recorded his first album, "Mixed Bag," in 1967.
"The '50s were a special time, the entire country was dumb. In the '60s we were hip and in the '70s and '80s we tried to figure out the '60s," he said. Now in '90s... we're right back in the '50s."
His most recent album, "Cuts to the Chase," came after a three year break from his last album, "Resume: The Best of Richie Havens."
In "Cuts to the Chase," Havens divides the album into two parts, "The declaration" and "Independence." He sings versions of Sting's "They Dance Alone," Jackson Browne's "Lives in the Balance" and Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin."
Throughout his 30-year career, Havens has molded his music to reflect today's society.
"My albums are meant to be a chronological view of the times that we've been through," Richie said. "What we've thought about, and what we've done to grow and change. There's a universal point that we all respond to, where all songs apply to everyone, and this is what I'm still addressing today."
During the show, Havens had some useful information for the younger people in the crowd who were not around in the '50s. "Those of you who think that the future is in outer space," he said. "We are in outer space."