Marlintini's Lounge
Juneau, AK.
2nd September 2004.
By Brad Groghan

I am a rock-n-roll fan. Guns n Roses, Van Halen, Led Zep, Ozzy, etc. My wife, however, is a country fan and used to love Hal Ketchum. Out of my love for her, I bought tickets and we went to see Hal play last night at Marlintini's in Juneau, Alaska.

I went in expecting to be bored out of my mind. Unless it's Willie Nelson or Waylon Jennings, country music just doesn't "do it" for me at all. We arrived about an hour early and were surprised to see Hal and his band at the bar, having drinks and chatting with fans and customers.

The show finally started - about half an hour late - and when the announcer said that Hal had been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame, I ordered another Corona and prepared myself for a LONG night.

Hal and band then took the stage, looking totally like a local bar band.  Hal had a black t-shirt on with no sleeves, gray hair down to his shoulders.. His guitar player and bassist looked like they were taking a break from their bartending jobs at the Elks Lodge. Then they broke into their first song . . . . and I was memorized for the next 90 minutes.

Unfortunately, I don't know the names to any of the songs - but all I can say is that the entire band kicked ass. I think the reason Hal isn't as popular now as he once was is because he's not truly a country singer at heart. This man has more blues-rock in his soul than most singers out there performing in that genre. Maybe his fans already knew this??? But as a newcomer I went in expecting to hear pure country. The first four songs they played, were pure gritty adult blues-rock.  Stevie Ray Vaughn would have been PROUD. At one point I even told my wife to "ssssshhhhhhh" when she tried talking to me. I was enthralled by the amount of heart and soul, the passion and feeling he put into these songs. At one point during a slow song, Hal was so intense into singing about heartache than he ripped part of his shirt open. I was blown away and was wishing the radio hadn't been hyping this show as a "country" act as that probably kept a lot of the younger generation away.

As the concert went on they did eventually play all their country hits. A couple I recognized, a couple I didn't but the audience seemed to like them a lot. By the end of the night, seats and tables were moved back and people were dancing in the isles. The guitar player - an older guy, maybe named Kenny, did a great job.  He was shredding away and brought loud responses from the crowd after several guitar solos. The bass player and drummer also had nice solid performances. Subtle but effective. The bass player sang backup and had sort of a screeching voice, that would be my only complaint of the show. 

Hal's voice was great and he sang with a lot of passion. The non-country songs were amazing and I wish he'd go this route with an album. Mellow blues-rock is the only way I can describe it. He's got the voice and band to put out a massive album in this field. I'd love to see him put out a live recording - not from a large venue, but from one like Marlintini's - a smoky little bar, with 200-250 fans packed together and Hal and band on a small stage, doing what they do best. Not big country anthems, or silly country pop songs - but down-and-dirty, full-of-meaning, heart-wrenching songs that make you want to drink a beer and think of the woman you were once in love with and had never gotten over. They even did a Van Morrison cover - Crazy Love - that sounded just as good, if not better than the original.

All in all it was a great night and I am VERY thankful that I attended the show. This guy is an incredible singer, especially when he leaves the safer country songs and sings the soul-blues-rock songs.