December 25, 2011: Christmas
	December 7-10, 2011: The Ruckman/Gleim Birthdays
	Return to the Index for 2011

Recently, our friend, Mario Tarradell, the music critic for the Dallas Morning News, did a big piece on one of Fred's favorite performers- Michael Martin Murphey. The three of us and Steve Friedman saw Murphey in Waxahatchie, Texas, a couple of years ago (there is a photo album page for our visit to Waxahatchie). When the piece was published in the paper, Murphey was very pleased and, as a result, Mario was able to get tickets for us to see him in his "Cowboy Christmas" show at Bass Hall in Fort Worth this evening. We have been looking forward to it for some time; it promises to be a great performance.

Bass Hall in Fort Worth

We drove over to Fort Worth early in the evening, and stopped across the street from Bass Hall for a quick supper, and then walked across the street to the venue. Mario collected our tickets and we went into the hall to find our seats. They were in the center on the main floor. The stage was all set up to resemble a campfire out under the stars, although the video screens on either side, that were running advertising about Murphey's upcoming performances and CD sales, took away from the ambience a bit. I should probably apologize for the lack of clarity of some of the pictures and movies on this page. Bass Hall is very touchy about photography in the hall, especially with flash, so I had to take my pictures without it, and my movies very surreptitiously.

I took some pictures and movies before the show began. In the movie that you can watch with the player at right, we'll just have a look around the hall and at the stage.

I leaned back and took a picture of the decorated ceiling, and also snapped a couple of pictures of the crowd finding their seats and the balconies on the left side of the hall. Shortly, it was time for the program to begin.

The performance was much like others of his that Fred and I have seen, save for the fact that most of the songs Murphey and his band performed were Christmas- or holiday-oriented. All were quite good. As for the movies and pictures I took, again I was hampered by having to be as careful as possible not to either annoy other patrons or attract attention. This means that for the movies, I couldn't hold the camera up to position the image or zoom in; I just had to hold the camera in such a way as to try to point it at the stage. So in the movies you can watch with the players below, you will be doing more listening than watching, for there are extended periods when the camera wandered away from being pointed at the stage. In any event, you may enjoy the listening:

"The Christmas Two-Step"

"What's Forever For"

Band Introductions (Best Movie)

I wish that I could have been either closer to the stage, or more open with my filming.

I was a bit luckier with the pictures that I took, although not all of them came out very well either. You can see the two best pictures that I took during the performance by clicking on the thumbnail images at left.

The performance was very enjoyable, but one of the things Mario said we'd be able to do was go backstage and meet Murphey; he had invited him at the time Mario did his interview. Murphey's schedule for the evening changed, though, and he did not greet anyone backstage, but instead came out into the lobby after the performance to autograph CDs.

Michael Martin Murphey

Fred and Michael Martin Murphey

The concert was very, very enjoyable, and both of us are indebted to Mario for being able to arrange for us to see it!

You can use the links below to go to another page in this photo album.

	December 25, 2011: Christmas
	December 7-10, 2011: The Ruckman/Gleim Birthdays
	Return to the Index for 2011