Sonds Of The South is a collaborative performance by some dynamic American musicians who came together to bring to life some of the music ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax collected during his career.
Lomax was known for traveling through the backwoods of America and other parts of the planet , gathering field recordings of untapped talent. Without his recordings, many of them would have disappeared without a trace. Some have been musical guide books for people like Beck, Bob Dylan and many others through the decades .
Tonight Sydney was lucky enough to haveJustin Vernon from Bon Iver, Frazey Ford from the Be Good Tanyas, the new folk sound of Megafun, and the jazz ensemble of Fight The Big Bull on board.
With these songs being reinvented, it was hard to know beforehand what was going to be served up and by whom, but the ingredients seemed to make the audience drool a bit. This tribute of sorts had been done a few years ago in America, so there was a good deal of anticipation for this night of joyous song.
On a stage decorated with lamps, furniture, and a truckload of instruments, the bluegrass sounds of Appalachia kicked off the night.
The next song started off with the simple picking of a banjo until everyone fell into some mish-mash of avant-folk that threatened to bring the walls down. With the horns and percussion and trance-like playing of the strings, it sounded like a train passing close by in the darkness.
Frazey Ford came out and sang a deep southern bluesy number. The horn section was wailing and the low down sound was enthralling and ended with a flourish. The momentum of this evening seemed to be carrying the performers and the audience away to a special place.
Joe Westerlund’s version of “I Want Jesus To Walk With Me” was almost cinematic as the use of horns joined with his stellar vocals. Even for the most secular person, this was the perfect music, to have played to you on a Sunday afternoon.
The Opera House had been transformed into a house of worship for beautiful music. Fight The Big Bull, the improvisatory jazz ensemble led by Matthew E. White, truly made this soulful.
With over 100 songs on the Lomax recordings, Sounds Of The South: A Musical Journey From The Georgia Sea Islands To The Mississippi Delta, it was hard to know which numbers were going to be interpreted.
Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “When You Get Home, Write Me A Few Of Your Lines” was one that was chosen and growled out by Vernon. The intro by Phil Cook on keyboards was flavoured with New Orleans spice, and the blues was brought home to Vivid. The whole damn cooperative brought it to a cacophonous finale.
There were great moments in every song. Almeda Riddle’s “Go Tell Aunt Nancy” was a vocal thrill with Ford leading the choir arranged on the stage. This led to more of the same vocal pyrotechnics with the gospel inspired “Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus”.
The opportunity to see these young musicians take these old-time nuggets to fabulous sonic heights was an opportunity that the gathered would not soon forget. Vernon and Ford singing a magical duet, the band adding simple beauty behind them, truly brought the house down towards the close of the show.
The rousing gospel of “I’m Gonna Sail Like A Ship On The Ocean” seemed like a fitting finale but the standing ovation brought everyone back for one more fine slice of Americana pie when “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”, composed by The Band, was rolled out. Not only did they make this song their own, but it was a fitting tip of the hat to a group of musicians that had taken the same path these younger musicians still trace today. Levon Helm would have been smiling in approval.
