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By Dave Miller

XZo

Although Chuck Berry’s show Saturday at the Congress Theater was in trouble even before the first note was played, nobody could have predicted just how strangely the night unfolded.  

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Nearly an hour into an off-kilter, erratic performance, Berry took a rare seat behind the keyboards, for the second time of the show no less, but then slumped forward, his head hanging as his forearms rested on the keyboards, propping up his body. He stayed like that for about a minute before he was eventually helped off the stage. That, of course, appeared to be the end of the show, but Berry returned six minutes later, after much of the crowd had left, and strapped on his guitar. Before he could start a song, he was led offstage again so emergency medical personnel could check him.

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Unbelievably, an announcement made from the stage said that Berry would return if he was able to, and, sure enough, 13 minutes later, guess who returned to the stage? Berry said he felt like "he had no strength at all" when he slumped at the keyboards, but that he felt better after the short rest during which his blood pressure was checked. He started looking for his guitar, but when he saw he was about to be escorted off the stage again, he thanked the fans (who by then numbered less than a quarter of the crowd that had packed the theater) and duckwalked off the stage to cheers.

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That concluded a bizarre show. I knew it was going to be a rough night when emcee Dick Biondi introduced Berry’s backing musicians only by their first names. Berry has a reputation for poor performances on the road because he plays with whatever musicians a promoter in a given town hires to back him. (By contrast, Berry uses the same musicians for his monthly club shows at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis and those performances, a handful I’ve seen, have been wonderful for years.)

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This show was shaky from the start. Berry’s guitar, like so often has been the case over the years, was out of tune and the backing musicians played too slowly. That threw Berry’s classic tunes out of whack and the performance quickly confused the crowd, which was palpably excited to see the man most credited with inventing rock and roll. While you saw little bursts of greatness, like the guitar solo Berry threw into the end of “Sweet Little 16,” this show was off even by Berry’s standards. Surprisingly, considering his guitar has often sounded bad for years, Berry was frustrated and pre-occupied by his out-of-tune guitar for which he apologized for a number of times. “It’s my fault,” he said. After unsuccessfully trying to tune his guitar with help from the keyboard player early in the show, he handed over his guitar and sat behind the keyboards himself. Then he tried his guitar again and continued trying to tune it, stopping the show dead in its tracks. He continued apologizing for not “fully” entertaining the crowd and explained that he stopped a song because it was in C and his guitar was in G. “That’s all I can say,” Berry said disappointedly. “I’m not here to teach music. I’m here to play music.” “My Ding-a-Ling,” of all songs, actually received a relatively strong treatment. The audience responded to a cover of “Jambalaya.” “You’re very kind,” Berry repeated.

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Lyrics were forgotten. Parts of songs were played. A long poem was recited out of the blue. “Reelin’ and Rockin’” was typically fun, but Berry wasn’t convinced. “I admit I’m struggling,” said the 84-year-old, who for some reason was playing his third show in two nights after playing two on New Year’s Eve at B.B. King’s club in New York City.

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I experienced different emotions watching this show. I started disappointed. Like many others, I don’t understand why Berry undercuts himself and his classic songs by not touring with a regular band. There were glimmers of excitement when Berry’s greatness surfaced for a few seconds at a time. And I’ve got to admit, parts of the show were comical in how badly his guitar sounded and how much time he took trying to tune it. But as Berry continued to struggle in front of a big crowd excited and privileged to see him, I turned sad most of all.

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Thankfully, things didn’t get any worse even though it looked for a bit that Berry was in serious physical trouble after he moved behind the keyboards for a second time. Admittedly, it was cool to see him come back on stage after being helped off it the first time. Who else but a man known for his stubbornness would do that with his health seemingly in jeopardy? (And not once, but twice.) While I was waiting to see if Berry would return to the stage a second time, Mickey Rourke’s movie [i]The Wrestler[/i] flashed through my mind. Here was someone in real life putting himself at risk to please the crowd once more. It was dramatic to watch for sure, but poignant, too, made all the more so by the scattered amount of people left in the rundown theater. Even though the show was a train wreck, those who stuck around for the end of the movie witnessed a revealing ending.         

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The setlist:
 
Roll Over Beethoven
Sweet Little 16
School Days
Everyday I Have the Blues
Wee Wee Hours
Around and Around
Memphis, Tennessee
Let It Rock
Go Go Go
Carol
Johnnie B. Goode
My Ding-a-Ling
Jambalaya
Reelin’ and Rockin’

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Start: 9:30 p.m./Finish: 10:26 p.m.*
Totals: 14 songs, 56 minutes

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* Berry returned to the stage at 10:32 p.m. with his guitar, but then was escorted off the stage to get checked out. An announcement was made that he’d return if being cleared. Berry returned once again to the stage at 10:49 p.m. and was looking for his guitar. He addressed the crowd, saying he felt bad at the keyboards, but was feeling good again after the 10-minute break. He looked for his guitar to no avail and then seeing that he was about to be escorted off the stage again, said he could give the crowd a scoot, and he duckwalked off the stage at 10:51 p.m.

 

past reviews

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