A dvd, recording a concert that took place after O Brother, Where Art Thou? had been completed but (I think) before it had been released and definitely before its soundtrack had become a huge hit. It's mostly music from the film itself; I got a real kick out of seeing Gillian Welch in particular (exactly as I'd imagined her from the albums and associated photos - slightly awkward, a bit gangly, warm, and lovely-seeming), but it was somethin' to see Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss doing their thing live as well (got a bit of a chill during Emmylou's rendering of the traditional number "Green Pastures", and Alison Krauss' a cappella intro to "Down To The River To Pray" was also a bit special, showcasing her voice as it did). As a bonus, Welch and partner David Rawlings did two non-movie songs on top of their O Brother collaborations - "My Dear Someone" and "I Want To Sing That Rock & Roll". Both were very similar to the album versions, but breathed with a little something else in the live setting.
The show was compered by the fiddler John Hartford, one of those interesting and humane-looking old men, who also performed (the interaction between he and Welch during their performance of "Indian War Whoop" brought a smile to my face). Also featured are the Cox Family, the Whites, Ralph Stanley (receiving a standing ovation when he first came on stage), and others. Impossible not to respond to music so unaffected, pure and rich - there's an almost tangible good humour and warmth to the whole concert, and I was left with a warm feeling myself, as well as a quiet, inexpressible sense of something approaching wonder at the endurance and strange power of music, and this mountain-rooted music in particular.
