By Jennifer Barron
(Daily Texan Staff)
July 22, 2002
A long way 'Down From the Mountain' 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'-inspired concert finally made its way down to the flatter land of Austin.
Remember a time when communities would kick back on a summer night, pull out their fiddles and joyfully harmonize the sweetest songs of the South without a care in the world? That's why it was so refreshing to see the musicians of the Down From the Mountain Tour, stripped of all glitzy entertainment frills and thrills, return to their down home roots and sing simplistic songs of substance at the Frank Erwin Center Friday night.
The Down From the Mountain concert was a rich, three-hour showcase of the country, bluegrass, folk, gospel and blues music featured on Joel and Ethan Coen's Grammy-Award winning film soundtrack, O Brother Where Art Thou? and the O Brother-inspired album, Down From the Mountain.
Organized like a living room performance, the concert - set with only an armchair and podium downstage left and an array of microphones - wove back and forth between the two albums, presenting soundtrack favorites Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ralph Stanley, Dan Tyminski, The Flatlanders, Norman and Nancy Blake, Nashville Bluegrass Band and Chris Thomas King.
Grammy award-winning musician Rodney Crowell played Master of Ceremonies, introducing the performers between sets and sitting back in his best-seat-in-the-house armchair during the performances.
Slowly opening the night were favorite O Brother songs "O Lazarus," "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "You Are My Sunshine," a buttery, nostalgic rendition performed by bluegrass legend Norman Blake. Next to take the stage was Alison Krauss and Union Station, including Dan Tyminski, performing "Wild Bill Jones" and "Blue & Lonesome" from the Mountain album.
Dan Tyminski and his Soggy Bottom Boys bring George Clooney's Dapper Dan slicked character to mind as they crooned the popular crowd pleaser, "Man of Constant Sorrow." Standing around a single microphone, the Boys' perfectly harmonized performance gave steam to the relaxed night.
Introduced as "Queen of the Silver Dollar," pure-country legend Emmylou Harris performed a small set with Canadian singers Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Harris, a woman with a delicate voice reminiscent of Joan Baez, was the Mother Hen of the night, appearing in nearly every other set throughout the showcase. Harris later harmonized her smooth, chocolate chiffon voice with Alison Krauss and Patty Loveless in O Brother's siren song "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," a performance that lulled the audience into an almost hypnotized trance.
Between knee-slapping sets by The Flatlanders, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, The Whites and MC Rodney Crowell, there were many memorable highlights of the night. Chris Thomas King, who portrayed the bluesman role Tommy Johnson in the film, performed his gritty songs "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" and "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'." An innovator in modern blues, King has the voice of a worn, experienced man, a depth rarely found in performers under the age of fifty.
After Alison Krauss' milky rendition of "Down in the River to Pray" and the Blakes' somber "I Am Weary, Let Me Rest," the night ended with "the Father of Mountain Soul" Ralph Stanley, a bluegrass living legend. Stanley informed the audience, "When I get a good applause, I work as hard as I can." And he indeed worked hard. Stanley performed his worn, soulful version of "Man of Constant Sorrow" with Loveless and "O Death" to a roomful of applause.
The show ended with the entire slate of performers returning to stage for an encore of "Amazing Grace," and Stanley requested the audience join hands and sing. This quiet, poignant hymn appropriately closed the warm, simple night of nostalgic pleasures. The showcase, with its focus on raw, from-the-gut talent, proves that the old adage "less is more," is indeed wise advice.