By Daniel Durchholz
Special to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
08/07/2002
So surprising is the runaway success of the music from the film "O Brother Where Art Thou," that even those who appeared in it or played and sang on the soundtrack - some of whom are part of the "Down From the Mountain" tour, which stopped at the UMB Bank Pavilion on Tuesday - are at a loss to explain it.
"When we were making the movie, we just thought we were making a really good movie," said singer Chris Thomas King during his portion of the concert. "We didn't know we were making a music video."
In fact, they were doing much more than that. With more than six million copies of the soundtrack album sold, and the subsequent success of the "Down From the Mountain" road show - it's an offshoot of a documentary of the same name, starring the "O Brother" musicians - mountain music and bluegrass, old-time country, gospel shouts and field hollers as well as the sort of roots/blues music favored by King are all enjoying a well-deserved resurgence in popularity.
The musicians gathered together Tuesday night likely represent the finest collection of talent we're likely to see on one stage, regardless of genre, for some time to come. The cast included radiant alt-country seraph Emmylou Harris, bluegrass stalwarts Del McCoury and Ricky Skaggs, crossover sensation Alison Krauss and Union Station (featuring Dan Tyminski, who dubbed George Clooney's singing voice in "O Brother"), roots-conscious country/pop princesses Rosanne Cash and Patty Loveless, and gospel titans the Fairfield Four, among others.
The concert was emceed by country singer Rodney Crowell, who said the musicians' goal was to "turn this lovely building into your living room." The show did have that kind of friendly feel, as individual sets gradually gave way to loose jam sessions. Egos were kept in check, too, as their seemed to be no particular pecking order for performances. Krauss and Harris went on early, for example, then returned later to back others. Skaggs, meanwhile, wasn't introduced until late in the evening, though he appeared onstage earlier in a supporting role.
With such concerns a non-issue, the concert's focus could be kept squarely on the music. And while dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass aficionados may have been disappointed in the concert's smorgasbord approach, fans whose interests run further afield couldn't have been accommodated much more completely.
Among the many highlights were Krauss showing off her crystalline soprano on "Down to the River to Pray"; the Del McCoury Band's recasting of Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" as a fiery bluegrass number; Dobro specialist Jerry Douglas' newgrass showcase "We Hide and Seek"; Loveless' world weary reading of the coal-mining lament "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"; and Harris' revival of her 1980 tune "Roses in the Snow," with help from Union Station. "
Having Union Station as your backup band is like having Picasso paint your house," she quipped.
While Crowell's introductions of the artists sometimes made the show feel a little self-important, the wide breadth of the performances and the ideas on display in the songs made it all worthwhile. On the one hand, you had the preteen Peasall Sisters' innocent take on the forthright "In the Highways," and on the other the Fairfield Four's scarifying shadow-of-death cry "Lonesome Valley." This wasn't an evening about sugar coating American roots music for mass consumption, but about revealing it in all its many forms and flavors.
Tyminski couldn't escape without performing his accidental hit "Man of Constant Sorrow," of course, and though his revved-up version turns what is supposed to be a mournful song on its head, it's still a thrill to hear him sing it.
So once again life imitates art. Just as in "O Brother," when the fictional Soggy Bottom Boys become a very real sensation, a hit film touting roots music has brought about an actual revival. Whether it will be lasting or as fragile as a bit of celluloid, though, is anyone's guess.