Barker true to spirit of Johnny Cash at Eisemann Center
12:12 PM CDT on Monday, September 25, 2006
By MATT WEITZ / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
RICHARDSON – When my father used to take the family on our epic vacations through the
American West, the one aspect of the trip that was as consistent as terrifying bathroom stops and
the hum of radial tires was the music of Johnny Cash.
12:12 PM CDT on Monday, September 25, 2006
By MATT WEITZ / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
RICHARDSON – When my father used to take the family on our epic vacations through the
American West, the one aspect of the trip that was as consistent as terrifying bathroom stops and
the hum of radial tires was the music of Johnny Cash.
Friday night, Shawn Barker brought his version of the Man in Black's music
to the Eisemann Center in a show that referenced Mr. Cash's sense of
folkloric sentimentality with all the force of the original and brought back
long-dormant memories of sun-baked vistas flying past tempered glass.
Looking and sounding more like the country star than Joaquin Phoenix in
the recent biopic, Mr. Barker and his band raced through most of the Cash
catalog, touching on classics like "Jackson," "I Walk the Line" and "Hey
Porter" with a gusto that easily dispelled the sense of necrophilia that
usually accompanies such resurrections.
He presented his one-man show (albeit with a band backing him) with a
welcome force and freshness, touching on all the significant aspects of Mr.
Cash's career – the early years, pop ascendancy and elder-statesman
status – with equal vigor.
to the Eisemann Center in a show that referenced Mr. Cash's sense of
folkloric sentimentality with all the force of the original and brought back
long-dormant memories of sun-baked vistas flying past tempered glass.
Looking and sounding more like the country star than Joaquin Phoenix in
the recent biopic, Mr. Barker and his band raced through most of the Cash
catalog, touching on classics like "Jackson," "I Walk the Line" and "Hey
Porter" with a gusto that easily dispelled the sense of necrophilia that
usually accompanies such resurrections.
He presented his one-man show (albeit with a band backing him) with a
welcome force and freshness, touching on all the significant aspects of Mr.
Cash's career – the early years, pop ascendancy and elder-statesman
status – with equal vigor.
DARNELL RENEE/Special Contributor
Shawn Barker channeled the Man in
Black vividly.
Shawn Barker channeled the Man in
Black vividly.
Dressed in a long black (natch) gunfighter frock coat, he was a Cash cobbled from many newsreels
and concert films, presenting his character with enough authority that he could actually pull off an
end-of-show version of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" without seeming cheesy.
and concert films, presenting his character with enough authority that he could actually pull off an
end-of-show version of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" without seeming cheesy.