The weather gods once again blessed the Seattle waterfront last night
as Emmylou Harris & Spyboy performed at Pier 62. Earlier this week
the weather had put me in mind of an old Heart song - 'today summer
day, warm & green & gray - often typical of June in this part of the
world. But yesterday the sun shone and the temperature hovered
somewhere around 70 as Travis, Melanie & I walked down the Seattle
waterfront to Pier 62. As we took our seats there was a half moon
(not a quarter moon)in a sapphire sky (not a ten cent town) just to
the left of the stage. As the evening progressed and the sapphire
deepened to black, that moon made it's way over the stage and seemed
to hover over Emmylou as she performed her set. She did complain
about the chill that usually permeates the air at night here in the
Pacific Northwest, even after the hottest days. But other than that,
she seemed to be having a marvelous time as she & the band performed
for nearly 2 hours. This is the third time I've seen Emmylou in
concert. She always puts on a helluva show.
Joe Henry opened for Emmylou last night. I really had never heard of
this performer but I did enjoy his set. His voice is reminiscent of
Elvis Costello but his music is very laid back. He played guitar with
a drummer, a bass player and a keyboardist who played a mean piano. I
don't quite know how to describe his music. He performed one song
with the piano that had a distinct jazz flavor to it. There was also
a song or two that sounded like (if you'll pardon the expression) acid
music, man! Trippy! The keyboard player really knew how to tickle
the ivories. He put me in mind of Herbie Hancock at times. It was
pleasant to let this music wash over me as I watched the crowd and the
moon & enjoyed being with two of the people I cherish most in this
world.
Emmylou opened with 'The Pearl' followed by 'Where Will I Be?', the
opening cuts from 'Red Dirt Girl' & 'Wrecking Ball' respectively, two
albums that have taken their place on my list of all-time favorites.
Spyboy were more than capable of creating the sonic setting for these
two songs & they all gave stellar performances throughout the evening.
I'm convinced Buddy Miller can play any stringed instrument known to
man. Brady Blade beautifully provided the rhythmic base that drives
these songs and helps make them so exciting & vital. And Tony Hall
was all over the bass, particularly on an extended riff during 'The
Maker' when Harris and Miller left the stage giving Hall & Blade the
spotlight to let loose with a throbbing, driving jam between bass &
drums.
I've finally come around to acknowledging that Emmylou's voice is not
the pristine instrument it once was. But the beauty of that voice is
by no means lost or diminished. As we walked back to the car after
the concert, Melanie & I discussed how the voice becomes breathy to
the point of nearly disappearing on some of the high notes,
particularly on the songs from 'Red Dirt Girl' and 'Wrecking Ball'.
But then on other songs, particularly from her earlier repertoire, the
high notes come through strong and clear as a bell. Is this a
deliberate choice on the singer's part or is her upper range hit &
miss? Mel thinks it's the latter but I'm still not convinced. We
both agreed that her continuing to reach for these notes instead of
moving to lower, more attainable ones is gutsy and admirable. She
accompanied herself, picking her guitar without the band, on a few
songs, including a moving version of 'Bang the Drum Slowly'. The
images of the song 'Michelangelo have come to have very specific,
very personal meanings in my head. I was hoping she would sing this
one and the tears streamed down my face by the time she finished it.
'Red Dirt Girl' was another emotionally charged high point. Other
songs performed from the last two albums included 'Wrecking Ball',
'Goin' Back To Harlan', 'Deeper Well' - this one really smoked -
'Orphan Girl', 'I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now' and the funky 'One
Big Love'. After doing 'One Big Love', (one of my favorites) Emmylou
said 'that's my single. I thought was too old to have a single.' She
also thanked the audience for their support of 'Red Dirt Girl' and
said 'it actually recouped. That's the first of my records to recoup
since the 70s'. They also performed many of the songs that have
become staples of Emmylou's concerts - 'I Ain't Living Long Like
This', the lovely 'Hickory Wind', 'Wheels', 'Born To Run', and the a
capella 'Calling My Children Home', featuring 'the Spyboy choir'.
Emmylou's voice was stellar on this song & the harmonies were great.
Emmylou had a surprise or two up her sleeve for her concert last
night. The first of her records I bought was 'Profile', her first
'Greatest Hits' collection. Before I had ever even heard Patsy
Cline's version, I had become familiar with 'Sweet Dreams' from
listening to 'Profile.' I don't remember ever hearing Emmylou sing
this live until last night and was surprised that she would pull this
one out of her repertoire.
But the real stunner of the evening came when she introduced the song
'My Antonia'. Someone was walking onstage and there was a faint
rumbling of excitement from the crowd down front. I turned to Mel and
said 'that can't be Dave Matthews!' I was wrong. It could and would
be Dave Matthews. The crowd went wild. He sang his part of this
beautiful duet, looking at the words on a piece of paper, bowed to the
crowd and then left. The audience was on its feet & went crazy.
Emmylou expressed her gratitude for his recording the song and
agreeing to sing it with her live. Apparently Dave came out on stage
and shook some hands after the show was over but I, alas, was battling
my way against the flow of the crowd (kind of like a salmon swimming
upstream) to use the loo before the drive home so I missed him.
Emmylou was very warm and humble in her stage patter throughout the
concert. I always get the feeling that she would rather be making
music than almost anything else in the world. So her performances are
always infused with sincerity and the joy she gets from doing what she
loves. With Spyboy she seems to have put together the perfect band
to create the sounds that make her current work so exciting and still
be able to put across the earlier material that has come to make up
her standard concert repertoire. Whatever she may or may not have
lost in vocal agility is more than made up for in the depth of emotion
that she puts into everything she sings. She has been instrumental in
breaking down barriers between various styles of music over the years
and she is still a vital and exciting performer. If you get the
chance, go see her. I guarantee you won't regret it.
Mark in Seattle
PS: To Scott Price: Emmylou says she never had any intention of
marrying you and assured me that she would never dream of tying the
knot with anybody but me! She sighed and said she felt sorry for that
'poor lovesick guy' in Port Angeles but that her heart would always
belong to me. *this is a joke*this is a joke*this is a joke*
