The West Virginia Gazette
Saturday, Aug 17, 2002
By If you're going to come down from the mountain, the Mountain
State is
probably the place to do it.
More than 6,000 people turned out Friday for the Down From the
Mountain Tour
at Charleston's Civic Center. The 3 1/2-hour concert featured
traditional
and old-time music culled from the Grammy-winning soundtrack for
the Coen
Brothers film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" performed by the
likes of Dr.
Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, The Whites and Allison Krauss.
The "Brother" soundtrack became one of the most popular albums
of 2000,
despite the fact that the disc received no mainstream radio
airplay.
Critics credit the soundtrack with reviving the nation's
interest in
old-time music.
That interest never died in West Virginia, where traditional and
old-time
music are as culturally ingrained as the unforgiving hills. That
fact was
acknowledged by Kentucky native Ricky Skaggs, who received the
night's first
standing ovation.
"Oh, I'm in bluegrass country," Skaggs exclaimed as the crowd
exploded into
applause, "I forgot.
"I didn't forget," he winked a moment later, before launching
into one of
his signature, supercharged bluegrass steamrollers.
The evening's most emotional moment may have come from Patty
Loveless, who
lost her father to black lung disease. Her mournful refrain,
"You'll never
leave Harlan alive," seemed to come from the heart.
Other highlights of the show included Emmylou Harris' touching
reading of
"The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia," and any of a number
of
appearances by Allison Krauss & Union Station. Krauss'
recordings simply
cannot do justice to the singer's amazing dynamic range, and
only hint at
her prowess on fiddle.
Bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley, whose song "O Death" won a
Grammy in its
own right, received the night's second standing ovation, and
before he sang
a single note. Stanley sang his Grammy-winning song a cappella
and gave a
spirited rendition of "Pretty Polly" with help from Loveless
before
reprising "Man of Constant Sorrow," the film's signature tune.
Stanley then
called the entire entourage on stage and led the audience in
several verses
of "Amazing Grace" as an encore.
West Virginians grew up listening to enough gospel music to know
what to do
with it.
STAFF WRITER