DFTM: Hartford Courant concert review (Uncasville date)
July 4, 2002
By THOMAS KINTNER, Special to The Courant
The impressive success of the soundtrack to the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" has paid tremendous dividends to fans of acoustic music, not least of which has been the tour inspired by that multiple-Grammy-winning disc, which travels under the name "Down From the Mountain." Tuesday night that road show stopped at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, where an enthusiastic near-capacity crowd was treated to a program that impressed on all fronts, a well-staged celebration of traditional music packed with some of the genre's most impressive star power.
Master of ceremonies Rodney Crowell opened the night by introducing the five-piece Nashville Bluegrass Band, who offered up the spiritual "Po' Lazarus" on their own before providing support to other acts for much of the night. That prelude set the stage for a fast-moving procession of accomplished acts, among whom were Norman Blake, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Emmylou Harris. The sound of Krauss' voice mesmerized the room during "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" as ace dobro player Jerry Douglas flavored the tune's steady acoustic gait. Taking the stage after Union Station guitarist Dan Tyminski rolled out his crowd-pleasing rendition of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," Harris also enthralled with her clarion vocal sound in a solo reading of the lovely and haunting "To Daddy."
Chris Thomas King had an easy handle on the Delta blues grooves he issued in a pair of songs, his slide acoustic guitar a sweet accent on "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'." The Del McCoury Band sported more of a throwback bluegrass vibe as its leader, a onetime member of Bill Monroe's band, gamely barked out the lyrics to "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" and matched the train-emulating tempo of "All Aboard."
Looking nowadays like he was ahead of the curve on the acoustic revival for having walked away from commercial country music several years ago, Ricky Skaggs closed out the first of the night's two acts alongside his band, Kentucky Thunder. There was plenty of spring in the step of his cover of Monroe's "Uncle Pen," and his speedy mandolin line capped a thick acoustic jam in "Black Eyed Susie."
The night's program was a trove of riches too deep to catalog owing to the quantity of talent and skill that rotated on and off of the stage with each new song, but some highlights did stand out. Patty Loveless, whose sole appearance in the show's first half came when her strong voice laid the foundation for a three-way harmony in "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" with Krauss and Harris, returned to render her "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" in moving and memorable fashion. Blake's deft touch shone through in his performance of "Paramount Rag," and Crowell reminded listeners of his own prowess when he stepped away from his emcee role to ground his "Song for the Life" as Krauss and Harris added lustrous harmony.
By way of a big finish, the show offered up the legendary Ralph Stanley, whose a cappella turn on "O Death" was stark and powerful. His craggy voice mixed pleasantly with Loveless' clear tone on a duet of "Pretty Polly," and his sound stood out in a measured reprise of "Man of Constant Sorrow." All of the tour's 30 or so musicians then joined him for an encore that featured the powerful gospel of "Angel Band" and a chorus of "Amazing Grace," the latter styled as a lined-out hymnody in which Stanley chanted each lyric before inviting the room to sing along. Still vital at 75, he was the perfect man for the job, leading the room much as he has traditional music for more than five decades.