Review of concert from 2002-01-13: with Emmylou Harris, Steve
Earle, Nanci Griffith; Belfast, Waterfront Hall: Landmine Free World
VG, 2002-01-14
- Stein Ostbo, transcribed by Ronny Saetrum
"AN EVENING WITH A BIG HEART"
(Rating: 5 out of 6)
Popular music doesn't get more meaningful than this, five legendary
artists sharing a stage and the goal and vision of creating relief for
victims of war, maimed by landmines. "Concert for a landmine free
world" is not the kind of charity concerts that there's been so
many of since September 11th last year. Three of the artists
tonight, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith and Steve Earle have been doing
similar concerts in the US for over three years and they have also gone
to war-torn countries to visit victims of landmine maiming. They have
all shown great social conscience, and adding their collective integrity
as artists, this turns out to be an unbeatable combination.
ACOUSTIC
The concert is entirely acoustic. The only backing is provided by Nanci
Griffiths piano-player, James Hooker. The tone between the artists is
good, but they seem a bit nervous and tense at the beginning. Elvis
Costello is the "newcomer" to these shows. The first part
of the show, in which Elvis does a brilliant version of U2's "Please",
is a subdued affair. The artists sit in a line onstage, doing one song
each, but somehow failing to entice the audience. The sound leaves a
lot to be desired and the whole first set actually seems a bit tame
and uninspired. This is reimbursed when winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
of 1997 and leader of the anti-landmine organization, Bobby Fuller enters
the stage to make an appeal just prior to the interval.
After the interval it's as if there's five entirely new artists up
there on the stage, and at last we get some truly magical moments. Nanci
Griffith gives us all the goosebumps with her rendition of Julie Gold's:
"From a distance", Emmylou Harris pays hommage to her mentor
and boyfriend Gram Parsons in "Sleepless nights", which she
does as a duet with Elvis Costello. Then Costello takes the mike and
spits out a fierce and intense "Alibi", a perfect appetizer
for his forthcoming solo album, due out in April.
LAUGHTER
Suddenly the atmosphere loosens up. The audience is cheering, the artists
are helping each other and edging each other on by singing backing vocals
on each other's songs, and the audience are treated to witty remarks
and hilarious stories from the stage, something that instigate even
more laughs and cheers. In some of the intros to the songs, the artists
dwell on the cause that has brought us all here tonight, but they never
let it overpower the musical performances. And as a concert with a cause,
there are surely no other artists who could've done this with greater
integrity. They are all songwriters with their hearts in their American
roots, both musically, politically and socially, just like their idol,
Woody Guthrie.
In fact, I'm certain that if Guthrie had been alive today, they would've
saved him a chair onstage. His spirit has never been more alive than
in Belfast last night.
Written by Stein Ostbo of "VG"
(transcribed by Ronny Saetrum)