PEORIA -- "If you want to end war you gotta sing loud!"
Arlo Guthrie played the Peoria Riverfront CEFCU Stage on July 19, and of course included that famous line from "Alice's Restaurant," his classic anti-war piece from the Viet Nam era. It remains relevant today.
Guthrie, now in his 60s, still has the famous voice and the huge talent as a musician. He performed alone on guitar, harmonica and keyboard for more than two hours, in an event that began on time and ended with a standing ovation, followed by an encore, a sing-along number on peace.
An audience of several hundred people enjoyed the intimate, laid-back outdoor venue on the riverfront. They were transported back four decades to the music and attitudes of that era.
"There are a lot of weird people out here, some disguised as normal," he joked.
Guthrie spiced his songs with humorous stories and comments. On his age: "I used to pay to feel like this, now it's free."
He sang "City of New Orleans," and ended with his father's famous "This Land is Your Land," interrupted with stories of Woody Guthrie.
The world is full of disasters natural and man made, he commented. "In a world that sucks like this one, you don't have to do much" to do good, he said. "Keep the spirit going."
--Elaine Hopkins
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