The Smiley Smile Message Board

I just bought tickets to see Leon Russell in a little neighborhood theater next month. I don't really know that much about Leon's catalog, just the major stuff like Tight Rope and Song For You. Any suggestions for songs or albums I should start looking for?

I'm excited for this show though, and anyone in the Chicago area should hop on some tickets. This theater only seats 230, so it will be super intimate and it's a really nice place, I've been there for quite a few comedy shows, but this will be the first music performance I've attended there.

Check out Carney and Will O' The Wisp.

Thanks! I'll probably do some record shopping this weekend!

Leon Russell played keyboards on The Monkees Porpoise Song.

His set with Willie Nelson is a real kick

Saw Leon last night and it was incredible. His band is so sharp. He plays with 4 guys, a lead guitarist, bass player, drummer and an auxiliary guy that played some guitar, some pedal steel and some keys. They were great, wonderful job one the vocals too. The bass player sang lead on an old blues song toward the beginning of the set and the guitarist sang two blues songs from his album by himself while everyone else took a break. They played about 90 minutes, and I was surprised that most of the set was covers. While I expected to see covers, I was surprised there weren't more Leon Russell originals. The originals that he did play are such great songs and Leon and the band really owned them. No deep cuts from his albums, just the hits/singles.

Leon himself was great. Sounded really good, played well and his between song banter and stories were very entertaining. He told a story about going to a party at Hal Blaine's house, and I was the only person that clapped for Hal Blaine, however, everyone else there lost their minds when he mentioned the Flying Burrito Brothers and Joe Cocker in the following stories. The crowd was a whole different story though. The floor in front of the stage was open, so we went and stood right in front of Leon. We were only like 6 ft. away from him, so I got some great pictures. That free, open space also encouraged a lot of dancing and groping, so I witnessed more than one couple surely older than my parents making out.

At any rate, the show was amazing. It was only $35 a ticket. If you have a chance to go see him, do it! Guys like Leon probably aren't going to be touring much longer so take advantage of the opportunity to see them.

I’d love to see him and I’ll get tix if he comes around our way. He’s definitely one of my heroes.
I met him once on a visit with Jim Mankey,  who was working at Leon’s Paradise Studio. He gave me a little tour of the facility (I believe it had previously been some sort of film production place). I saw the legendary Stephens 40 track track set up (wow). On the lot, Jim was pointing out the tour bus, when Leon walked up. I got introduced to him; we shook hands.  Quite a thrill.

Very cool! My husband has done improv shows at this venue before, so we knew some of the people that worked there and thought about going back to try to meet Leon, but there were a lot of people waiting by the backstage doors and the tour bus, so we decided to go home. I'm sure that was a great thrill though, he seems like a really nice guy and would be cool to meet in a situation like that.