In 1965, a teen named Arlo Guthrie performed “a friendly gesture” that led to his arrest for littering, but it was the song he wrote about it that has lasted the test of time.
Now Guthrie will bring the “Alice’s Restaurant” 50th Anniversary Tour, his unique multimedia show, to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on Feb. 21. Guthrie is set for an 8 p.m. show in the ASC, 1200 10th Ave. South. Tickets are $45.50, $54.50 and $63.50. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.
The eldest son of beloved American folk singer and philosopher Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie has been known to generations as a prolific songwriter, social commentator, master storyteller, actor and activist, all thanks to his 1965 arrest. His hilarious account of actual events that precluded his serving in the military in 1966 became a platinum-selling record in 1967 and full-length motion picture in 1969. “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree (Alice’s Restaurant),” his 18-minute, partially sung comic monologue opposing the Vietnam War and the backward reasoning of authority, has become an anti-establishment anthem and a traditional Thanksgiving tune on classic rock radio stations. The original album rose to No. 17 on the Billboard chart.
Joining Arlo Guthrie will be his son Abe Guthrie on keyboards, longtime friend Terry A La Berry on drums, Darren Todd on guitar and Bobby Sweet. Because of the song’s length, Guthrie has added the complete “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” to his touring menu only on the 10-year anniversaries. The Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour will feature the full “Massacree” along with many favorites from his catalog. Following this two-year tour, “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” will again be removed from the menu.
| Now Guthrie will bring the “Alice’s Restaurant” 50th Anniversary Tour, his unique multimedia show, to UAB's Alys Stephens Center on Feb. 21. Guthrie is set for an 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $45.50, $54.50 and $63.50. Call 975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org. |
The “Massacree” became an anthem for the anti-war movement of the Vietnam era. However, Guthrie told Ron Bennington in a 2009 interview, “It wasn’t an anti-war song; it was an anti-stupid song.” According to his bio, Guthrie has often said that the song brought him together with friends he didn’t expect to make: “I came out of that time thinking I’d only met two kinds of people — people that give a damn and the people that don’t. And the truth was that you could find both of those kinds of people on every side of every issue.”