Arlo Guthrie to bring ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ to Bass Hall on Thursday

During the Vietnam War era, a number of young men avoided military service with strategies ranging from fleeing to Canada to stretching out a college career.

But chances are, only Arlo Guthrie, who performs at Bass Hall on Thursday, managed to stay out of uniform by littering.

The son of legendary Oklahoma folk singer Woody Guthrie explained how all that came about in his 1967 song-monologue, Alice’s Restaurant Massacree. The 18-minute track explained how the younger Guthrie was arrested for littering when he did a favor for a friend in Stockbridge, Mass. (the Alice of the title), and was later deemed unacceptable for the draft because of that conviction.

Now that funny, rolling bit of counterculture lore is turning a half-century old (dating from when it was written, not released) and Guthrie is on the road celebrating his signature composition with the Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour. He maintains that the tour is more than just a reverse birthday gift to his fans.

“I began writing Alice’s Restaurant in 1965 and finished it the following year. Those years were filled with a restless anticipation, especially among younger people, hoping that the river of history could change course into a new direction — one that more closely resembled the hopes and dreams we shared. It can be argued that these days seem quite [similar],” Guthrie said in an email interview.

“Although that’s not why we’re doing this tour (we’d be doing it anyway). But it is nice to see so many young people getting involved again. And just like those days, the older crowd generally seems afraid to shake things up too much. These days, I’m standing with the kids less than half my age, as decades ago I’d have hoped someone twice my age would’ve stood up with me.”

But a lot of people of all ages did stand with Guthrie when he made the song an iconic part of the incredible musical tapestry of the 1960s. The album (Alice’s Restaurant) was on the Billboard charts for almost two years, peaking at No. 17.

In 1969, the song was the basis for the film Alice’s Restaurant, starring Guthrie as himself. And a concert from this tour aired on PBS last Thanksgiving.

“By the time we get to where you are, we’ll have a CD version available also,” said Guthrie, whose other hits include The City of New Orleans and Coming Into Los Angeles.

You would think that taking his biggest number out on the road for a victory lap would be something Guthrie could do in his sleep.

But like a lot of artists with a dominant hit, Guthrie has had something of a love-hate relationship with Alice’s Restaurant Massacree. He has performed it on some tours but not on others. And, in a Rolling Stone interview preceding this tour, he said that he was going to have to take some time to learn to play the song again.

“I was fairly moody before the tour began over a year ago,” he said by email. “I didn’t know if all the elements we put into it would work. So the most satisfying thing was to see it get on the road, get tweaked, and then run like a finely tuned engine.”

The Bass Hall audience shouldn’t expect Guthrie to play Alice’s, drop the microphone and leave the stage.

“This particular tour (unlike some others we’ve done) is a complete show, with lighting cues, video and photographs from the family vault,” he said. “So, I don’t think of it like a list of songs, although the show is filled with them. If I didn’t think most people would love it as a complete experience, I would be changing it as we speak.”

And don’t mistake this current slate of shows for a farewell tour.

“I’m old enough to have seen many of my peers retire, or stop touring, only to get back and hit the road again. This life gets in your blood. Ask any of my kids and their kids who’ve grown up on the road,” said Guthrie, who has more than 25 studio and live albums to his credit. “So I’m saving my farewells for friends who are departing this world without me. I figure I’ll be among them soon enough — no need to hurry it along.

“I’d guess most people who hear about this show will say ‘I thought he was dead’ anyway. I’m working on it, but there’s only so much you can do. If there’s time for another tour, or another song, I’ll take it.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Arlo Guthrie to bring ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ to Bass Hall on Thursday."