Remembering Glen Campbell a year after his death

As he was taking his third encore ovation Wednesday night at Fox Tucson Theatre, Glen Campbell waved to the soldout audience and said something that he's said at the end of a thousand evenings before this:

See you again real soon.

But we know that we will not see Campbell on our stage again. And very soon, he will not stand on any stage.

Campbell is in the midst of his farewell tour. But unlike rock bands that say they are ending their run only to resurface a few years later, or a pop diva who drags her farewell out over several years, Campbell's farewell is final. Nearly a year ago, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in early 2011.

He already is showing signs of the disease catching up with him. His performance Wednesday had a few miscues, some missed lyrics here and there, times when his voice strained and awkward moments where he wasn't sure where he should be or what song he should be singing.

With a quick nod or nudge, Campbell's daughter, banjo and keyboard player Ashley Campbell, would set him straight.

Ashley and her brothers, drummer Cal and guitarist Shannon, and their Instant People bandmates were Campbell's band and his opening act. They are indie rockers out of California and they were pretty impressive in their 30-minute opening set, and even more impressive as Campbell's band. They were top-notch players, but more than that, they were compassionate backups, there to give Campbell a gentle nudge, a reassuring smile and a comforting hand to let him know he was doing just fine.

And for the most part, Campbell was doing just fine. He took the audience, which gave him countless standing ovations throughout the night, on a joyful stroll down memory lane. He sang "Galveston" with a slight wobble to his voice, and whipped out a more than respectable guitar solo on "Gentle On My Mind" and the soul-lifting "Try A Little Kindness," and in a guitar-banjo duel with daughter Ashley. His voice was mostly solid as he surfed through some highlights of his impressive 50-year catalog - "Wichita Lineman," "Country Boy" "Southern Nights."

For most of the night, he relied on a teleprompter to jog his memory. He would glance down, rediscover his place and continue the song. But on occasion, like when he sang "I Can't Stop Loving You," he stared at it like a karaoke singer, as if he had never sung the words before.

About 45 minutes into the show, Campbell left the stage for one song and returned in a glittery blue coat. He then segued from his hits to his new and final album, "Ghosts On the Canvas," and the concert took on an ominous feeling. It was as if Campbell were telling us what this disease has in store for him. "Any Trouble" is a plea not to go to any trouble "you know I won't be here long," and yet Campbell did not perform it with any sense of why me anger or pity. He also checked the pity party at the door when he sang about being so confused, "My past gets in my way / I need the ones that I love most / To hold me more each day." The song is a reassurance that he is headed for "A Better Place."

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

As he took his final bow, helped by his children, Campbell looked out into the audience and smiled.

"See you soon, I hope," he said.

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.

Tom Privett and about 20 of his friends and fellow Tucson musicians and music lovers gathered on the southeast corner of East Glenn Road and North Campbell Avenue Wednesday afternoon to wish Glen Campbell a happy 79th birthday.

The corner seemed the perfect backdrop — possibly the only intersection of Glenn and Campbell anywhere in the country, according to Privett's  Google maps research. 

Privett and his wife Laurie billed it as a flash mob, but it was more like a campfire sing-along, sans the campfire. With the sun blazing noontime hot, a core group of six led by Privett played five of Campbell's best-loved songs including "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Wichita Lineman." It was a tribute that Campbell surely would have appreciated. 

Campbell, a longtime Phoenix resident, is being treated for alzheimer's disease at a long-term care facility. The Grammy-, ACM- and CMA-winning country pop singer went on a "goodbye tour" in 2011 after his alzheimer's diagnosis. The tour played in Tucson in early 2012.

Privett said he had contemplated for five years putting on a birthday flash mob to honor Campbell, but never did. Given Campbell's deteriorating health, he decided he probably shouldn't wait.

"We decided that this is the year to do it," he said.