Ted Vigil
26 July 2019
Stargazers Theatre, Colorado Springs, CO
I regard the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s as a golden age of popular music, given the technological growth that occurred over those two decades, and given the lucrative nature of studio recording and music distribution, later largely obsolete due to portable studios and the internet. That golden age incentivized cultural icons who pioneered timeless soundtracks and who attracted followings with legendary staying power. Finding similar artists in today's day/age is becoming increasingly difficult. Newer and newer generations are discovering and appreciating this golden age music, however many are saddened to learn that many artists have already met their demise, sometimes tragically early, leaving fans with only posthumous catalogs, and spurring an increasing market for facsimile artists. The world lost John Denver on 12 October 1997.
Many tribute artists are impressive to the extent that they sound more like the original artist than the original artist did. Ted Vigil describes himself not as an impersonator, but as a tribute artist, because he acknowledges that the world will never see another human being like John Denver. Ted's physical resemblance to the original artist is impressive and natural; his vocal range closely approximating those of Denver's & Ted makes a concerted effort to emulate the intricate vocal phrasing reminiscent particularly of John's performances later in his career; even Ted's mannerisms take the viewer back to moments on the numerous John Denver television specials in the 1970s. Ted sold out the 550-seat Stargazers Theatre in Colorado Springs -- not bad for a tribute artist -- Ted Vigil has accumulated a large following over the last decade in particular.
In his first set, aside from covering much of John Denver's catalog of hits, including "Rocky Mountain High", "Take Me Home Country Roads", "Wild Montana Skies", "Leaving On A Jet Plane", "Sunshine On My Shoulders", and "Back Home Again", Ted showcased a poignant message in his original composition, "Sing My Songs After I'm Gone".
Ted began his second set by inviting three audience members onstage to make animal noises during "Grandma's Feather Bed", and continued with "Annie's Song", "Matthew", "Love Is The Master", and "Fly Away". Ted saved his voice for a strong second-set finish with the falsetto-chorused "Calypso".
After an encore of "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", I was able to meet a fan wearing the exact same 1995 John Denver Wildlife Concert t-shirt that she and I both bought at the 17 July 1995 Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre concert.
With only a violin player, bass player, and vocalist backing his performance, during tonight's show Ted successfully demonstrated what John Denver also could throughout his superstardom years -- that even sparse instrumental arrangements can provide impressive rhythm if the songs are moving enough -- somewhat ironic because Ted used to play drums decades earlier. Speaking of, after the show I met Ted in the lobby signing autographs and spoke with him briefly -- small world -- Ted and I went to the same high school (William Winlock Miller "Olympia") and even rode the same International Harvester school bus! I remember Ted Habersetzer (Vigil) listening, back in the day, to Rush's 2112 on his boom box. Who knew?
[****] - Steven T.