JSOnline.com Review
By: Jon Gilbertson - jsonline.com
Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller: Saturday night at the Pabst Theater, they presented themselves as "Three Girls & Their Buddy."
The characteristic modesty this implied, and the coziness of the setup - the quartet sitting together, each occupying the spotlight in turn while the others contributed small parts - didn't conceal the full force of talent arrayed on a single stage. (The show was sold out.)
Harris alone would have been impressive. After more than 35 years of shows, solo albums, collaborations and session gigs, her voice remains one of American music's most humbly spectacular instruments. Haunting, bruised and fragile in such a way that every crack in it seems to fill with emotion, the voice is simply luminescent - not like streetlights, but like fireflies or the aurora borealis. Not just a perceptive interpreter - she opened with an exquisite take of Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl" - Harris is also a soaring songwriter with tough country roots. "Red Dirt Girl" and "Boy From Tupelo" exemplified her skill.
She was more than happy, as well, to harmonize with the other two "girls," who more than proved their worthiness to sing alongside her. Griffin, like Harris, started in the folk scene but gravitated toward something grander with songs like "Sweet Lorraine" and "Useless Desires."
But Griffin easily restrained her power for "Mary," a soft mourning on which her three friends brought in angelic accompaniment. Less angelic in general was Colvin, the grittiest of the three "girls" and the one with actual mainstream hits. Her singing had a thin undertone that was, paradoxically, both world-weary and childlike, even on a kiss-off such as "Get Out of This House."
Then there was Buddy Miller - the ringer.
Throughout the evening, Miller only looked like a lesser figure, thanks to his understated accompaniment and his self-effacing humor. (He introduced Johnnie & Jack's "Poison Love" as "Your Poison Love Has Stained the Lifeblood of My Heart and Soul, Dear.")
Yet his authoritative Nashville voice - his run-through of "What Made Milwaukee Famous" was no mere nod to the tour stop - and his sharp electric guitar attested to a talent so ingrained that it appeared instinctive.
And when the talent pool runs so bedrock-deep as it did with "Three Girls & Their Buddy," a still and humble manner must be just as instinctive. |
