Daniels supplies Northern exposure to songs, sentiments of the South

All was well in the world Sunday night as the sun set over Bangor. The New England Patriots had routed the Miami Dolphins, the Boston Red Sox were clinching another American League title, and two giants of the music industry – Charlie Daniels and Earl Scruggs – were about to take the stage of the Bangor Auditorium.

The 623 paid ticket-holders should not have been disappointed. Despite a technical snafu, which delayed Daniels’ on-stage arrival until 9 p.m. (he finished at 10, no encores), the playing was fine, as was the sound. And, decked out in white cowboy hat and boots, red plaid shirt, bluejeans and king-size belt buckle, the bearded 70-year-old Southern rock musician looked limber and energized.

Scruggs and his seven-member Family and Friends band ambled onstage just after 7 p.m. and warmed up the crowd for an hour. Although the banjo-playing bluegrass musician uttered only two words during his set (acknowledging the audience’s 84th birthday greetings), all eyes were on The Man. (His longtime partner, Lester Flatt, died in 1979.)

Guitarists Gary and Randy Scruggs played in their father’s band, which returned quality bluegrass to Bangor after a glaring absence at this summer’s American Folk Festival. Highlighting their set were the up-tempo “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” with John Randall on lead vocal, and the honky-tonk favorite “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Loud, Loud Music.”

Age hasn’t dimmed Earl Scruggs’ virtuosity, which was evident not only on banjo, but on the songs he picked on acoustic guitar. The band closed with his two standards, the theme from “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” from the film “Bonnie and Clyde.”

Then, it was Charlie’s turn, and he made full use of his time. Hurrying onstage to the strains of Patti Page crooning “Tennessee Waltz” over the sound system, Daniels got down to business with his scintillating fiddle playing, singing “The South’s Gonna Do It Again.” Ever the Southern gentleman, he apologized for his late arrival.

Backed by a five-member band, Daniels pledged allegiance to the flag, belted out the national anthem, saluted the U.S. military, whom he has entertained in Iraq, and performed his favorite gospel song, “How Great Thou Art.” He closed with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” perhaps leaving a few die-hard fans to wonder why he omitted his 1973 hit, “Uneasy Rider.”

Daniels’ unbridled views on child molestation were also on full view. Before launching into a tune on that topic, he said, “We have way too much violent crime in this country, and we do way too little about it. … The next time we bring a child molester before us, do us all a favor and hang him.”

If you think that sentiment doesn’t jibe with his gospel leanings, you don’t know Charlie Daniels. A big bundle of talent and contradictions, what you see is what you get. And Bangor got plenty of everything from him Sunday night, if only for an hour.