Posted on Thu, Aug. 26, 2004
Emmylou Harris was the star of the traveling show, but her compatriots helped make the event a three-hour joyride.
By Fred Beckley
Not every dream team disappoints.
Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - touring this summer as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue - filled the Keswick Theatre Tuesday night for nearly three hours of American gold: from the Carter Family ("Hello Stranger") to the Louvin Brothers ("There's a Higher Power"); from the Byrds ("Turn! Turn! Turn!") to Bo Diddley ("You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover").
Aided on and off by Griffin's four-piece touring band, the five played 34 songs in seven seamless but distinct "micro-sets" (Welch's term) that featured nearly 20 different personnel variations. The revue opened, and then came Harris, Miller, Harris and Griffin, Welch and Rawlings, Griffin, and the revue again. "No one ever sits down backstage," Welch said.
The women wore black dresses; the men wore hats. Although ostensibly an ensemble of equals, 57-year-old Harris - by reputation and in fact - led the evening. She talked most, sang strongest, and with long silver hair and biggest dress, was most visually arresting. The evening ended with her classic Gram Parsons collaboration, "In My Hour of Darkness."
The revue played a wide range of covers but individuals sang mostly their own stuff. "After all these years," Harris said, "I'm still making records." In her subtly beautiful, 30-minute micro-set, she played "I Will Dream" from Stumble Into Grace (Nonesuch) and other fruit from her late-blooming interest in writing ("My Antonia," "My Baby Needs a Shepherd").
Miller strummed with her and then followed with his own half hour of gutbucket fire and brimstone. He played three strong tunes from his forthcoming Universal United House of Prayer (New West) and, joined by Welch and Rawlings, a haunting version of "There's a Higher Power."
Welch and Rawlings took a gothic turn with their old-timey micro-set. They played eternal-sounding originals ("By the Mark," "Rock of Ages"), sang hillbilly harmonies, and made the most of Rawlings' tasteful guitar.
Over the course of the evening, each woman played one solo tune. For Welch, it was "One Little Song." Griffin played a traditional band set, louder than the others but no more powerful. She sang with her typical intensity, changed guitars often, and enlisted Miller to play "Love Throw a Line," one of three tunes from Impossible Dream (ATO).
The revue then returned to swap verses on "The Weight" and closed with three more takes of unpolished excellence. Harris dubbed this tour - essentially, a collection of sad and mournful songs - the most fun she's ever had. The audience roared assent.