Moon | Saturday, February 07, 2009 | 10:48 am

I've seen LOTS of concerts from the 60's on and Havens is in the top 5 (Hendrix, Sly, Led Z, etc). He's such a committed and honest performer. I saw him a couple of years ago at the Santa Monica Pier and he still has it. He almost always brings me to tears. What an amazing artist. I've struggled to understand why he hasn't been more successful (popular). He has a very distinctive sound (guitar playing and voice) and covers a song sometimes better than the original. Why he isn't the star he should be i don't understand.

davidolken@yahoo.com | Thursday, February 05, 2009 | 12:51 pm

I had the honor and privilege of experiencing Mr. Havens at the Felt Forum in NYC at a "Woodstock 10 Years Later" tour. By the time he came on ,most everyone had left so maybe there were about 100 people who saw his performance. We had a moment where we caught each others eyes and felt a small sadness of the degeneration of the spirit of the original Woodstock,then we smiled and he launched into "Freedom/Motherless Child". It is one of my many favorite concert memories. Here's to the Truth.

Ade824 | Thursday, February 05, 2009 | 3:03 am

I have always loved Ritchie, he is one of the only artists I know who can do a song cover as good or better than the original. He still sounds just as good today. He plays often at the Jazz Cafe here in England and it really is an unforgettable experience seeing him play live. Jose Feliciano also played here, he was amazing as well and also sounds just as good, which really took me by surprise. They are both very funny and witty as well. If you really want to get a feel of real music go and see these passionate and brilliant performers.

pshea | Saturday, January 24, 2009 | 5:39 pm

one trick pony in the sense that he tuned his guitar in a certain fashion (i think dropped-d) that he really didn't have to finger too many fancy chords - or unfancy chords for that matter. i saw that show in south bend and madison as an opening act for elton john 72. i won't say that havens was better than elton. elton hadn't become the charicature yet. he was still on his game big time! but havens got that crowd PUMPED for elton - both of those times. it wasnn't that phony thing that was prevalent back then. it carried through. yeah, it was trite. but not that trite!

neilfan | Saturday, January 24, 2009 | 2:01 pm

Beatles, Sinatra, Doobie Bros. & Springsteen... Richie makes all the materila his own! An amazing musician and a bright spirit through all these years.

fotd313 | Saturday, January 24, 2009 | 8:15 am

Suggest to all if given the opportunity, check out Richie Havens. Thirty years later, his music and style stand the test of time.

Anonymous | Friday, January 23, 2009 | 4:09 pm

Back in the late 60's I was the GM of closed circuit radio station at the college I was attending. We had almost no budget for purchasing records and were pretty much dependant on the generousity of the record companies in providing us with promo copies. None was more helpful than A&M, and that's how I got to know about Richie Havens. Still love him. It might be fun for the Vault to put together a play list of performances by A&M artists (or artists from other labels).

Anonymous | Friday, January 23, 2009 | 10:16 am

Although Havens is a Woodstock icon to be sure, I always felt he was pretty much a "one trick pony" ie after the second song, you pretty much have heard Richie Havens. This show however is a very pleasant surprise to these ears. His song selection and red-hot band make this a great listening experience ... check it out. ~Dave S.