Saturday, August 13, Dawes opened for country and bluegrass legend Alison Krauss at The Fox Theatre. Though not yet a household name, Dawes brought a mellow vibe and a country feel that was far from cliche and contrived. While playing in front of what seemed to be a backdrop of sheets hanging off a clothes line, Dawes sounded the way they looked: like a laid-back party in no hurry to end. Unfortunately, their set had to come to an end, and it seemed to end too soon. After a short thirty minutes, Dawes left the stage, but not without leaving their mark. With a weather-worn rasp akin to that of Levon Helm, they sounded like a calmer version of the Band with the knack for lyrical specificity not unlike Paul Simon. They played with an organic confidence that showed they were not new to preforming, but had the southern hospitality to leave out any kind of unatractive arrogance. A Dawes record may never get a spin on 94.9 The Bull, but they may not only be considered an opening act for long, either.
Alison Krauss & Union Station then took the stage for a 28 song set- totaling two hours and fifteen minutes- and the crowd was happy to give her all the time in the world. With a career-span of nearly 25 years, Krauss has plenty of tunes to choose from. With a handful of radio singles, country-folk tunes, bluegrass traditionals, instrumentals, and more, a fan quickly finds out that an Alison Krauss & Union Station performance is not a highlight of her career, instead, it's a healthy survey of country music over the last 65 years.
Krauss played quite a few songs off her record Paper Airplane, released earlier this year. She opened the show with the title track and following the sequence of the record, they rolled into "Dust Bowl Children," an upbeat number led by guitarist and vocalist Dan Tyminski. Later on, country music veteran and Grammy award winner Jerry Douglas took the stage for a dobro instrumental where he incorporated bits of his own tune, as well as Chick Corea's classic "Spain." Later on, Tyminski played his well known rendition of "Man Of Constant Sorrow," from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Krauss closed out the set with an obvious favorite of our city, "Oh Atlanta."
Krauss and the band then crowded around the microphone in true bluegrass fashion and played a medley of her hits and crowd favorites including "Down To The River To Pray," also from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? film, her largely successful radio hit, "When You Say Nothing At All," and "Whiskey Lullaby," among others. Throughout the night, the crowd never lost interest, but instead held onto every angelic note that poured from her mouth. She captivated the audience with a sense of humor, an obvious love of musicianship and simplicity, but most of all, she drew them in with classic songs and beautiful voice.
Ben Israel
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