Willie Nelson

MEADOW LANDS - Willie Nelson performed outside in front of at least 2,500 people at the Meadows Racetrack & Casino Saturday night, but it was the kind of set that would have easily been at home in an intimate club.

Backed only by a harmonica player, bassist, drummer playing a snare with brushes, his sister, Bobbie Nelson, on piano, and a big ol' Texas flag, Nelson's performance was the epitome of laid-back unpretentiousness. You got the impression that everyone casually ambled off the bus, did their job, and just as casually ambled out of town to the next stop.

That's not to denigrate Nelson and his musicians, though. At 77, he's logged enough miles on the road and enough hours in the studio to make it all look exceptionally easy. Despite a couple of raindrops and skies that looked menacing, no one could stroll away with many complaints.

Nelson played some of his own signature songs, such as the Patsy Cline hit "Crazy," and the inevitable "On the Road Again," along with salutes to songwriting pals like Kris Kristofferson and the late Waylon Jennings. Part of what makes a Nelson concert so interesting is you're never quite sure how he's going to approach a song - like an old, virtuoso jazz man, he never seems to sing even the most familiar song the same way from night to night, and his solos on his extraordinarily battered acoustic guitar had an improvisational feel.

Ever-prolific, there's a new album in the stores, the very good T Bone Burnett-produced "Country Music," and Nelson nodded in its direction by playing the album closer, the traditional tune "Nobody's Fault But Mine," but didn't engage in any overt salesmanship. Kind of a pity, that - there were plenty of copies at the merchandise table, and he could have moved a few units.

The Willie Nelson concert was the final show in a three-concert summer series at the Meadows that included a double-bill pairing Yes and Peter Frampton and a July 4 Bobby Vinton appearance.