Monday, February 18, 2002
By GENE STOUT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER POP MUSIC CRITIC
O, brother, was this fun.
With the fuzzy warmth of an old-time Opry show, the "Down From the Mountain" tour brought an underappreciated part of America's musical legacy to life Friday night at the Paramount Theatre. From "Po' Lazarus" to "Amazing Grace," it was an uplifting and tremendously satisfying evening of music.
The tour, which also played Thursday night at the Paramount, was inspired by the Coen brothers' movie "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?" about three Depression-era escaped convicts. The movie soundtrack has sold more than 4 million copies since its release last year, making it the top-selling country album of 2001, amazing for a genre that hasn't been much of a commercial force in the past.
"Music like this has been missing from venues like this way too long," said host Bob Neuwirth, who introduced the stellar lineup from a lectern at the side of the stage.
The biggest names on the bill were Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless and Alison Krauss & Union Station. But it was lesser-known performers Norman and Nancy Blake, Chris Thomas King, Dan Tyminsky (the singing voice of George Clooney in the movie), the Nashville Bluegrass Band and the amazing Ralph Stanley, among others, who helped make this a country show like no other.
Members of the immensely talented Nashville Bluegrass Band served as backup band for a comfortably paced show that included more than two dozen singers and musicians, from the 74-year-old Stanley to the pint-sized Peasall Sisters, each under age 15.
Many of the songs in the show were from the "Down From the Mountain" CD produced by T-Bone Burnett. The Nashville Bluegrass Band opened with a stirring version of "Po' Lazarus," which was greeted with hand claps and whoops of approval from the audience.
Singer and guitarist Norman Blake, who has worked with Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, offered a wonderful "Big Rock Candy Mountain," a fanciful tune performed on the "Down From" CD by the late John Hartford. Blake's wife, Nancy, then joined him for a sweet and tender version of the Gene Autry favorite "You Are My Sunshine." The two reappeared throughout the show, bringing decades of artistry to the concert.
Tyminski (described by Neuwirth as "the man who made George Clooney look like a stud") was joined by members of the Nashville Bluegrass band for a powerful "Man of Constant Sorrow," a key song in the movie.
The silver-haired Harris (accompanied by guitarist Buddy Miller) shared anecdotes about her past Northwest visits, including a Groundworks 2001 anti-hunger benefit in October. She offered a beautiful version of her melancholy ballad "Red Dirt Girl." Family group The Whites then joined her for a moving "Blue Kentucky Girl."
King, who played a sell-my-soul-to-the-devil bluesman in the movie, performed a powerful "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'" in the acoustic Delta blues style. Afterward, Krauss, Harris and Loveless teamed up for an angelic "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," a song featured in the movie's "siren" scene.
Krauss and company turned up the heat with "Down to the River to Pray." Paying tribute to Hartford, the Nashville Bluegrass Band offered the Hartford-Bill Monroe song "The Riverman Blues" with Norman Blake filling in on guitar (the band's founder, Pat Enright, couldn't play because of a family emergency).
A late highlight was The Whites' version of "Sandy Land," a fiddle-based song from their first album. Harris joined them afterward for "Fair and Tender Ladies." The Whites closed their portion of the show with the Carter Family favorite "Keep on the Sunny Side of Life." Loveless took the stage for a rousing "Pretty Little Miss" from her "Mountain Soul" album, followed by the haunting "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive."
Mountain-music patriarch Stanley closed the show with a set featuring the chilling "O Death," a rousing "Pretty Polly" (a duet with Loveless) and a soaring "Man of Constant Sorrow," a signature song he recorded in 1950.
Accompanied by all the singers and musicians on the tour, Stanley returned for an encore of "Angel Band" and "Amazing Grace." The audience sang along beautifully on the latter, providing a stunning finale.