Union Station (from left) Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Barry Bales, Dan Tyminski and Ron Block (not seen) brought their bluegrass sound to the Municipal Auditorium Thursday night.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The last time Alison Krauss was scheduled to perform in Charleston, the show was canceled because of poor ticket sales.
Such wasn't the case Thursday, when Krauss and her band Union Station played to a near-sellout crowd at Charleston's Municipal Auditorium.
Krauss, 39, opened the show with "Paper Airplane," the title track of her newest CD. She then played several other tunes from the introspective disc to an appreciative but sedate crowd.
It was only when Krauss delved into more familiar territory -- beginning with the lilting "Let Me Touch You For A While" -- that the audience perked up. Other crowd favorites of the evening included Alison's familiar folksy arrangement of the Motown standard "Now That I've Found You," a fairly faithful rendition of the bluegrass tune "Sawin' on the Strings," Dan Tyminski's rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow" from the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, and a surprisingly effective bluegrass ballad treatment of the 1980s Paul McCartney tune, "No More Lonely Nights."
Krauss has been on the music scene for so long, it's sometimes hard to believe she's only 39. But Krauss started young, first recording at age 14 and releasing her first album with Union Station at 16.
Her skill as an instrumentalist is also sometimes overlooked. Krauss was something of a child prodigy, studying classical violin at age 5 before switching to bluegrass, and winning the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship at 13.
Krauss takes tasteful and accomplished fiddle breaks during tunes, often hanging out to let others take the lead and never hogging the spotlight, either lyrically or instrumentally. She also spends a lot of time playing viola, perhaps finding its more raspy timbre better suited to her breathy vocal style.
During most of her shows, Krauss also gives an extended solo slot to world-renowned dobro player Jerry Douglas. Douglas' performance Thursday was especially significant, as his Braxton County parents were in the audience. Although born in Ohio, Douglas' parents and several relatives live in West Virginia.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The last time Alison Krauss was scheduled to perform in Charleston, the show was canceled because of poor ticket sales.
Such wasn't the case Thursday, when Krauss and her band Union Station played to a near-sellout crowd at Charleston's Municipal Auditorium.
Krauss, 39, opened the show with "Paper Airplane," the title track of her newest CD. She then played several other tunes from the introspective disc to an appreciative but sedate crowd.
It was only when Krauss delved into more familiar territory -- beginning with the lilting "Let Me Touch You For A While" -- that the audience perked up. Other crowd favorites of the evening included Alison's familiar folksy arrangement of the Motown standard "Now That I've Found You," a fairly faithful rendition of the bluegrass tune "Sawin' on the Strings," Dan Tyminski's rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow" from the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, and a surprisingly effective bluegrass ballad treatment of the 1980s Paul McCartney tune, "No More Lonely Nights."
Krauss has been on the music scene for so long, it's sometimes hard to believe she's only 39. But Krauss started young, first recording at age 14 and releasing her first album with Union Station at 16.
Her skill as an instrumentalist is also sometimes overlooked. Krauss was something of a child prodigy, studying classical violin at age 5 before switching to bluegrass, and winning the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship at 13.
Krauss takes tasteful and accomplished fiddle breaks during tunes, often hanging out to let others take the lead and never hogging the spotlight, either lyrically or instrumentally. She also spends a lot of time playing viola, perhaps finding its more raspy timbre better suited to her breathy vocal style.
During most of her shows, Krauss also gives an extended solo slot to world-renowned dobro player Jerry Douglas. Douglas' performance Thursday was especially significant, as his Braxton County parents were in the audience. Although born in Ohio, Douglas' parents and several relatives live in West Virginia.
"I would have been born in West Virginia, but it took too long to get here back then," Douglas told the audience. "I've always considered West Virginia as my home state."
Douglas then launched into a mile-a-minute dobro medley that began with an instrumental rendition of Paul Simon's "American Tune" before morphing into a Latin-tinged melody by Chick Corea and ending with an up-tempo version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" that brought on a standing ovation.
Bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, who practically invented the modern bluegrass banjo style and made "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" famous with partner Lester Flatt, died on Wednesday at age 88.
Krauss ended the evening with an extended encore that included longtime favorites "When You Say Nothing At All," "Down to the River to Pray" from "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and several gospel tunes. The songs were performed completely unplugged, with the band mostly clustered around a single microphone.
The added intimacy proved a fitting end to the evening.
Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.
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