concert review - THE JOHN DENVER TRIBUTE SHOW - Hale Centre Theatre

by Gil Benbrook

At first glance the resemblance is almost uncanny: the gold, round, wire rimmed glasses set on the sweet, round face which is surrounded by a mane of shaggy, sandy brown hair and topped off with a cowboy hat, jeans and a plaid shirt.

To say that Ted Vigil looks like John Denver, the famous award winning pop and folk music singer/songwriter, is an understatement.

Vigil has been touring the country and singing Denver's music for many years now and his concert stop at the Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert, The John Denver Tribute Show, was an evening of nostalgia and excellently played and sung music.

Vigil's singing voice may not exactly be the same as Denver's and the purity and clarity of his sustained high notes isn't quite as polished as the man who died in 1997 when the small plane he was piloting crashed. However, the combination of Vigil's mild mannered delivery, excellent guitar playing, exceptional vocal skills and humorous "aw, shucks" connection with the audience help to create a beautiful homage to this talented man.

The concert at Hale included all of Denver's best known hits, including "Rocky Mountain High," "Sunshine on My Shoulder," "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Annie's Song," "Calypso" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." Vigil lead a six piece band that features exceptional playing on a wide range of instruments (the flute solo in "Sunshine on My Shoulder" was a major highlight.) Vigil also incorporates a few audience sing along moments as well as, during the jaunty "Grandma's Feather Bed," the addition of vocal contributions from a few members of the audience. The evening also featured some lesser known tunes such as "Poems, Prayers and Promises," "Wild Montana Skies," "Eagles and Horses," and "Love is the Master" which Vigil said contains his favorite lyric, "today is the day that my life starts all over again." Also, "Leaving on a Jet Plane," which Denver wrote and was the only number 1 Billboard hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, received a touching delivery.

Throughout the show, Vigil interspersed personal stories about the songwriter that commented on the specific songs as well as Denver's life, including talking about Denver's environmental efforts. By weaving these facts into the concert, and featuring a range of Denver songs, and not just his hits, it amounts to a very respectful, well-rounded, tribute to Denver and his music.

Vigil also talked a bit about himself. He mentioned that back in the 1980s when he first met his girlfriend's mother, who would later become his mother in law, that she commented how much he looked like John Denver. Vigil said he was taken aback since he was in a rock band at the time and was really hoping people would think he looked like Jon Bon Jovi. But, he said, he learned to embrace the resemblance. In addition, while he played in rock bands when he was younger, his mother raised him on famous singer/songwriters of the 1970s and 1980s. While Denver had already passed away when he started touring these tribute concerts, he said once he listened to Denver's music, and discovered more about him, including his dedication to the environment, as well as the poignancy of his lyrics, he started to appreciate Denver even more. Vigil told the audience that he's also a songwriter and the concert even featured an original song by Vigil, "Even Angels have Bad Days,"which is a nicely written tune with a simple yet clean lyric.

Vigil's sweet disposition and charming interaction with the audience, along with the nostalgic familiarity of these tunes resulted in a loving tribute to an incredibly talented singer and songwriter.

This was the second show in Hale's summer concert series, all of which sold out. Hopefully these weren't the last concerts that Hale will be presenting as the intimacy of the in-the-round Hale space, in a concert setting, is like having someone perform in your living room.

For information on upcoming shows at Hale Centre Theatre in Gilbert: www.haletheatrearizona.com