"The road goes on forever and the party never ends"?
Well, no, despite what you hear in Robert Earl Keen's best-known song, much beloved by many, especially those who learned the songs in their college fraternity days.
Even the most laid-back of modern music's road warriors eventually have to call a halt (except, of course, Bob Dylan). And so it has come time for singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen to attach the name "I'm Comin' Home" to what he says will be the end of his touring days, and he attracted a crowd of faithful fans Sunday night to the Robinson Performance Hall to wave bye-bye to, having notched many a show in Arkansas since he began his career as a Texas troubadour 41 years ago.
It was a show to remember, not just for the songs but also for the stories in between the songs, the tasteful lighting and, oddly, his Arkansas-boosting comments, which came as a sort of lagniappe, or frosting on the cake. There were songs with references to Arkansas, and random comments such as "I'm sure I've stopped at every exit between Texarkana and West Memphis."
Keen's nearly two-hour set began with the playing of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" as the band entered the stage. Keen sported a shiny suit as he sat down at the front of the stage, backed by bass, drums and superb accompaniment from Brian Beken, a lead guitarist who also played fiddle. Remarking that Arkansas certainly has produced many fine musicians, he cited the late Levon Helm as an example, then related how he had met Helm, came to write a song about him and played a song about Helm, "The Man Behind the Drums."
And the hits, as the expression goes, just kept on coming. There was "I'm Comin' Home," "Corpus Christi Bay," "Copenhagen," "Dreadful Selfish Crime," "Shades of Gray," "What I Really Mean" (with its tender line, "Wish you were here") and, of course, "The Road Goes on Forever," which burst forth like a bolt of lightning, electrifying the crowd.
There was a lengthy encore that of course included the hilarious holiday anthem, "Merry Christmas From the Family," which resulted in a loud burst of audience participation. And after leaving the stage and returning, Keen, 66, wrapped things up with the most perfect song of his entire catalog: "I Did It All for You." There could have been no more perfect finale than that.
Opening act Brent Cobb got nearly an hour, a rarity for most openers, and certainly won over some new fans with a raucous, well-paced set, backed by drums, bass, guitar and some energetic keyboard work from Matt Rowland, a native of the Hope/Nashville, Ark., area before he headed off to the other Nashville to get gigs like this one.
Cobb, who turned 36 Monday, will make his home state proud as he progresses.