Glenn Campbell shows true grit in 'I'll be Me'

Fox Tucson Theatre is screening the documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” on Wednesday night and for many in the audience the concert scenes might bring on an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu.

Just three years ago, Campbell stood on the Fox Tucson stage surrounded by three of his children and loyal band mates, and performed his last Tucson concert. We got his show in the early stage of his farewell tour, which started out as a five-week journey that stretched into a 150-date trek that took him around the country.

It was one last chance to see the mulitiplatinum-selling pop-country artist do what he had always done best — perform live — until he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in early 2011.

A camera crew tagged along for the bulk of the tour, documenting his journey and the tightening grip of the disease.

On the Fox stage that February night, backed by a band comprised of his daughter Ashley Campbell and sons Cal and Shannon, there were hints of Campbell’s decline. There were a few miscues, some missed lyrics here and there. His voice strained at points, and there were a couple awkward moments where he wasn’t sure where he should be or what song he should be singing.

With a quick nod or nudge, daughter Ashley, playing banjo and keyboard, whispered in his ear, and he would get back on track. He had to rely on a monitor at times to remember the lyrics, but he looked like he was having fun. There was an air of confidence cutting through the confusion that reminded you of just what a big star Glen Campbell had been. He took the audience on a delightful stroll down memory lane, singing “Galveston” with a slight wobble to his voice, and ripping on the guitar solo from “Gentle On My Mind” as if his hands had been spared the ravages of the fast-progressing disease.

And Campbell left us with a new memory, one we took away that night and cherish still, and one that will likely come to the surface during Wednesday’s screening. In the second half of his concert, Campbell segued from his 1970s and ‘80s hits to songs from his final album, “Ghosts On the Canvas,” and the concert took on an ominous feeling. It was almost as if Campbell were telling us and himself what to expect from this disease.

There was one particularly poignant moment during “Any Trouble” when he sang that no one should go to any trouble — “you know I won’t be here long” —without a hint of sorrow or regret or pity.

“One thing I know / The world is good to me / A better place awaits you, you see,” he sang.

Proceeds from Fox Tucson Theatre’s screening of “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” benefit Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter.