To see video from last night's show, click here.
GRAND PRAIRIE -- It's not often that the headliner feels like an afterthought.
Such was the case Thursday night at Verizon Theatre, as Ray LaMontagne thoroughly commanded an electrified crowd before rock icon Levon Helm took the stage. Even though Helm was welcomed with a passionate cheer, LaMontagne took a lot of the room's energy with him when he bade everyone good night. Part of that stems from simple demographics; the audience appeared to skew younger and more KXT-affiliated than the older, wiser folks who remained for Helm's roughly hour-long set. To the youngsters, Helm is something of a museum piece, a member of the Band who holds "Midnight Rambles" in his upstate New York home that everyone from Elvis Costello to Jim James frequents. After battling back from throat cancer in the mid-'90s, Helm's voice is not what it once was -- that much was evident when the 70-year-old tackled Ophelia -- but his dozen-piece band ably recreates the boisterous R&B-seasoned rock first popularized by the Band.
LaMontagne, however, is fresh off his superb new album God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise, is hitting his stride and finding a wider audience for his songs, which dance along the boundaries of country, folk, rock and jazz. Backed by the Pariah Dogs, which includes Jay Bellerose on drums, LaMontagne spent nearly 75 minutes coaxing brilliance from the darkness. Whether it was happily ambling through a cover of Merle Haggard's Mama Tried or recasting You Are the Best Thing as a sizzling, faintly bluesy tune, LaMontagne -- who copped to being "high on cold medicine" midway through his set -- demonstrated a sure hand and unwavering confidence. Put simply, it was a tour de force from a musician that clearly should be at the top of the bill. I understand the deferential nature of this eight-date jaunt, but the shift in dynamics, from LaMontagne's tightly focused, if stylistically varied, music to Helm's more generous, free-ranging work, was jarring. Helm wasn't quite an afterthought, but he certainly didn't feel like the biggest act of the night.
If the one-two punch of Levon Helm and Ray LaMontagne wasn't enough, Alabama duo the Secret Sisters kicked things off. Plucked from obscurity by Fort Worth's T Bone Burnett, the pair, making their Texas debut, delivering goosebump-inducing harmonies, chatty stage presence and sparkling updates of staples from the likes of the Everly Brothers. It was magical, minimalist stuff that served as a pleasing counterpoint for the instrumental largess to come. Their 30-minute showing was a skillful one, and thanks to a Lone Star legend, Willie Nelson, who has drafted the group to open for him next month, the twosome will have more opportunities to rack up fans.
Here's some video I shot last night of Secret Sisters, Ray LaMontagne and Levon Helm performing.
