Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > October > 03 > Entry
ACL review: Levon Helm
It wasn’t the Last Waltz, but it wasn’t bad. Levon Helm, whose unmistakable drums and vocals were among the indelible signatures of the Band, brought his own band to town. And, unlike the relatively intimate mountain music ensemble he recruits to play his hometown Midnight Ramble shows at his home in Woodstock, NY, this bunch came loaded for bear.
He had a five-piece horn section, four different vocalists, a B-3 organ, accordion and at least three guitarists. Maybe a partridge in a pear tree (I didn’t check).
The only thing missing was Helm’s twangy, evocative vocals. Although he played drums with gusto, Helm was confined to an instrumental role.
Throat cancer almost killed him a few years ago, but a recent press release from his record company confirmed that Helm is currently cancer-free. Rather, his silence was attributed to “doctor-ordered vocal rest.”
Fair enough, but disappointing nonetheless.
Given how central Helm’s voice and harmonies were to the Band’s recordings, songs like “The Shape I’m In,” “It Makes No Difference” and “Chest Fever” sounded incomplete without him (no disrespect to the vocalists onstage intended).
It was sort of like going to an Eric Clapton concert where Eric sings great, but confines himself to playing the cowbell.
But even if Helm had never sung a lick, he would still be celebrated as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest drummers. He is that rarest of birds, a drummer who swings. Chopping up the time signature, riding slightly behind the beat, playfully tickling the meter, Helm drives whatever group he’s with to play beyond themselves. And at age 69, he still works at it as hard as ever; his kit was set up at right angles to the group, and you could see his back and shoulders flex and knot as he swung the lumber.
Vocalist Teresa Williams’ version of “Long Black Veil” and a Dixieland version of “Deep Ellum Blues” (with Helm on mandolin) temporarily turned the Livestrong Stage into Texas’ largest back porch.
But the highlight of the set, to these ears, was the great (if still lyrically incomprehensible) rock-of-ages slab of music that is “Chest Fever.” With guitarist Larry Campbell kicking it off, and Helm riding the ride cymbal, high-hat and snare for all he was worth and everyone else onstage hitting anything they could get their hands on, it was a big, joyous mess. This listener wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Jay Janner photo
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2009: Saturday, ACL Festival 2009
