Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2011 > March > 18 > Entry
SXSW review: Emmylou Harris
Short of being hired to play in Emmylou Harris’ band (Yeah, I know, you wish!), it’s hard to imagine a more intimate glimpse of her music than the one Harris afforded the jam-packed crowd at Antone’s Thursday night.
Playing as part of the Americana Music Association showcase, Harris and her two accompanists took the audience through a track-by-track rendition of the songs from her forthcoming album, “Hard Bargain.”
“I know, I know,” she said at one point as she semi-apologized for eschewing her hits in favor of unheard, untested material. “It’s after midnight. It’s South by Southwest. And it’s St. Patrick’s Day!”
No matter. The crowd hung on her every word and chord as she unfurled one new song — almost all written or co-written by her — after another. She was accompanied onstage just as she is on the album, by keyboardist/percussionist Giles Reaves and guitarist/producer Jay Joyce. It was, in short, the closest to being in the studio with Harris we mortals are likely to experience.
Though it’s hard to evaluate such freshly minted material, some things stood out. The overall sound of the music was spacious and uncluttered, with a sinewy, understated strength. There was still the sense of deep bottom and unusual, almost ethereal arrangements that Harris began experimenting with back in her Daniel Lanois/Spyboy days.
Thematically, the songs veered from the dead-serious (“My Name Is Emmett Till,” a song about the 14-year civil rights martyr sung in the first person and “Darling Kate,” a heart-wrenching farewell to her friend Kate McGarrigle) and another lament about homelessness, to the introspective (“The Road,” a tune she penned for late mentor and partner Gram Parsons, and “New Orleans,” an uptempo paean to that battered city) to the downright whimsical. There was a love song to a crowbait rescue dog she salvaged (“Big Black Dog”) and a semi-lullaby, “Goodnight Old World,” that she penned for her grandchildren. “You want (the song) to be sweet, but you’ve gotta prepare these kids for what they’re getting into,” she said with a grin.
Grandmother or not, Harris’ silvery voice has not lost any of its luster. It’s still one of the wonders of popular music and Harris herself remains, as always, the very epitome of a class act.
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: SXSW 2011
Comments
When commenting, we ask that you keep things civil and abide by our Visitor Agreement. To report comment abuse, click here.
By Cosmic Cowboy
March 19, 2011 6:03 PM | Link to this
Great review. I wish I could have been there. Emmylou is the best, hands down over everybody else.