Arlo Guthrie. 8 p.m. Jan. 31. $39-$49. Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive, Atlanta. 404-894-9600, ferstcenter.gatech.edu.
Nearly 50 years after the true events that inspired Arlo Guthrie to write “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” the singer-songwriter still keeps a running tab at the table.
On his current tour, marking the upcoming anniversary, Guthrie performs the nearly 20-minute talking blues-style folk tune at each show. Alongside “Restaurant,” Guthrie serves a buffet of songs plucked from throughout his lengthy career, from hoboing on a train they call the “City of New Orleans” to revving up “The Motorcycle Song,” among others.
The 67-year-old Guthrie, son of folk music royalty Woody Guthrie, released his debut album, “Alice’s Restaurant,” at the tail end of the Summer of Love in 1967. He penned protest songs, took the stage at Woodstock in 1969, and appeared in the film “Alice’s Restaurant” that same year.
These days, his formerly dark curls are Santa Claus white snaking down onto his shoulders, and a salt and pepper mustache curves around his smile. Despite long being eligible for AARP, Guthrie shows no signs of slowing. While many of his contemporaries opt for shorter, quick-hit jaunts, he plans on being on the road for a total of 18 months.
“There are smarter people than me everywhere you look, especially in this business,” Guthrie said regarding the lengthy trek. “It’s not stamina; it’s crazy.”
Actually, Guthrie may be smarter than he’d like us to think. He’s enhancing his career-spanning set list by giving fans a biographical lesson, with a multi-media presentation chock full of rare photographs from the Guthrie archives. His son, Abe Guthrie, who plays keyboards in the band, cherry-picked images from more than 75,000 recently digitized photos.
Still, the centerpiece is “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” based on Guthrie’s hyperbole-laced account of a story that began on Thanksgiving Day in 1965. It tells how Guthrie avoided the military draft because he had been arrested for dumping trash illegally. After its 1967 release, the comical anti-Vietnam War song became an annual Thanksgiving tradition. Many radio DJs and Guthrie fans still nosh on it each year, right along with the turkey and dressing.
“Naturally, I had no idea it would ever become associated with Thanksgiving,” Guthrie said, “but I’m thrilled and surprised that anyone remembers it, and is willing to come and hear it at a show. The tour is doing really well, and it’s surprising that ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ still is funny after all these years.”
And funny it is. Despite its flower-power origins, Guthrie’s deft monologue is timeless. The long, breathless lines, thoughtful pauses, ace timing and playful descriptions keep the song from being stuck with the ghosts of Thanksgivings past. Although he’s appeared in print before, it’s a wonder Guthrie’s storytelling abilities never segued into a full-time career as an author.
“Well, for starters, not too many people go out to hear a book,” Guthrie said, “so I’d be out of that line of work pretty quick if I started writing for a living.”
Fans do still come out to hear Guthrie, and many visit the Guthrie Center at the Old Trinity Church in Great Barrington, Mass. It’s the site of the famous Thanksgiving meal Guthrie had with Alice Brock and friends in 1965, and it was also used in the film. The property was purchased more than 20 years ago to house Guthrie’s not-for-profit foundations.
Today, it offers a variety of programs, from yoga and meditation to a monthly interfaith worship service to free weekly community lunches on Wednesdays. Both children and adults take advantage of free tutoring, and free legal services are available at the lunches. Of course, live music has a place, too.
But it’s the annual Thanksgiving Dinner That Can’t Be Beat that Guthrie refers to as “the best and biggest event we do.” The Guthrie Center offers this complimentary Thanksgiving dinner to everyone in the community, whether they have a home or not. At the 2014 meal, Guthrie rolled up his sleeves with fellow volunteers.
“It helps when all our visitors and volunteers know that all the proceeds (from fundraisers) go back into the community,” Guthrie said. “Not everything has to be profitable in terms of money. Goodwill, generosity, compassion and just being downright nice goes a long way, even these days.”
While the volunteers at the Guthrie Center continue spreading goodwill, Guthrie keeps chalking up shows on the Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour, repeatedly singing the line “you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.”
The musician, however, has to find his own personal nourishment along the musical trail.
“I can’t eat much before getting on a stage,” Guthrie said, “so the best (restaurants) for me are the ones that are still open when we get done. I’m not picky, but I do like a good drink after the gig. Maybe that’s the secret to my being able to do this for so long. When I know for sure, I’ll let you know.”
