2019 VetsAid Concert
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA, November 10, 2019
by Mary Andrews
Joe Walsh made the eve of Veterans Day for Veterans much like Christmas for our veterans. Walsh has taken on the issues of modern-day veterans his cause. He had been contemplating what he could do for our vets for a long time. Three years ago Walsh started an all-day festival to raise funds for veteran assistance.
Walsh and his wife, Marjorie, were asked why it was so vital for them to help veterans at the pre-show press conference. Their response was multifactorial.
It’s important to them for personal reasons. Joe is a Gold Star child. As a result, he could not join the armed forces. That stuck with him when he was attending Kent State University, not being able to serve his country. Marjorie’s father is a World War Vet with two purple hearts. Her brother is a veteran and she pointedly said, “We love our country. To see that these people put themselves in harm’s way and that we find the homeless on the streets is shameful. We attach to it from a personal perspective and it is ongoing. It’s not like the Viet Nam war when people came back when it was over. People are still coming back and they are forgotten. They get kicked aside on the street. . . . All these people entertaining tonight are donating their time because they have experienced the same kind of thing. Joe added, “These are our vets. It’s a different war than we have ever fought. There are some three thousand casualties from Afganistan, but there are 20000 vets who came home injured. The transition back to civilian life is amazingly tough. Vets come home to the middle of the country and there is no place for help. They isolate and they get depressed. There have been more suicides than there have been combatting deaths. We can’t process that.”
The performers lined up for the day were Brad Paisley, Jason Isbell, and the 400 Unit, Sheryl Crow, ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers, and, of coarse, Joe Walsh. There were a genuine concern and a sense of gratitude displayed for our veterans by all of the performers.
The day started with a photo op with Walsh and local members of all branches of the military and their families. Next, the performers participated in a photo with Walsh.
Traveling through this country for many years, Walsh noticed that there were huge gaps in support for veterans and their families in some of the most remote places. As a result, he has sought to support smaller organizations in the more remote towns and cities in addition to the larger organizations. The smaller organizations are often run by vets themselves. The Walsh’s have committed to have these concerts in different cities located all over the United States each year and to focus on regional charities. In the last two years, they have raised 1.2 million dollars for these charities.
One could compare this concert to Farm Aid. One major difference with VetsAid was there was no politics involved on this day. It was apolitical. Once the music started it was non-stop for six hours. All of the sets were a synopsis of the greatest hits from each performer and that was alright with the 10,000 plus attendees.
The concert started with a short set by country singer, Brad Paisley. Oddly, a multiple Grammy winner would be the opening act, but this is VetsAid and anything goes. Paisley wowed the crowd as he managed to squeeze in ten of his hit songs and even slipped in a bit of Prince’s “Purple Rain” for the occasion. Joined by Walsh for some hot guitar licks on “Alcohol.” was an added bonus that closed the set with an unbeatable swagger.
Sheryl Crow and her band quickly took the stage after Paisley. She reached back 25 years to her hits, ”All I Wanna Do,” “If It Makes You Happy,” and “Every day Is a Winding Road.” Jason Isbell joined her on stage for a duet on Dylan’s “Everything Is Broken.” Walsh joined her for a song. She packed a lot of punch into a 30-minute set. Crow mentioned ahead of her set finale, “I Shall Believe” that every member of her band had a family member who served in a war, stretching back to World War II. Without making a speech, Crow reminded the crowd that the night’s focus was on our family members, friends, and neighbors who have devoted themselves to military service.
Comedian, Drew Carey, was on hand as an emcee and he introduced some area veterans in between sets. They spoke about the veteran programs and how they help.
Isbell and The 400 Unit followed with a heartfelt group of songs tailored for the night like “Tour of Duty,” “24 Frames,” and “Decoration Day.” Isbell is well known for his stellar songwriting, but this set was all about superb guitar work and musicianship. Isbell decided to end the set on an upbeat note with a raucous cover of “Oh Well.” It was a set that was mighty good and too short.
ZZ Top is known as that little ole band from Texas and the Texas crowd proved just how much they loved their ‘homies.’ Gibbons gave fans everything they wanted from “La Grange” to “Legs” to “Gimmie All Your Lovin’ ” and “Got Me Under Pressure.” Folks were having a great time as they provided the off-key choral accompaniment for the band. There was a lot of booty shaking going on too.
The Doobie Brothers was a late add-on to the concert line up, but they gave the fans everything they had to give with early hits “China Grove,” “Black Water,” and “Listen to the Music.” The vocals were impeccably hot as the hits rolled on.
Walsh had the final act of the night and he delivered some of the best guitar of the night with “Rocky Mountain High,” “Life’s Been Good,” and the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane.” There were videos in the background depicting Walsh’s career from day one. Walsh’s guitar had a voice of its own that elicited as much emotion as the voices that came before Walsh’s set.
There was an all-star finale at the end of Walsh’s set performing Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me.” It was a song with a powerful message to our veterans It was a special night for a great cause.
Go to www.vetsaid.org to learn more about the organization and all of the programs that they support.
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