tour diary - over the rhine @ newport

i thought this was pretty cool and worth sharing. i got this note from karin bergquist (from over the rhine) about their playing newport yesterday...

Hey All.

My friend, Brian, asked for glimpse of what we experienced at the Newport Folk Festival yesterday. This is just me shining a tiny little light on it, but I thought I'd start with the best and the last and let you all share in a very beautiful memory...
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You mean besides the fact that we just played the freakin' Newport Folk Festival?!

Well for starters... Levon Helm- I asked Linford if it was ok that I still had a crush on Levon and thankfully he said yeah, it was ok. Levon sounded better than ever. Solid deep warm grooves. Swampy and soulfully southern. His voice slightly more grainy and weathered, even more endearing. His smile- a million dollar smile full of joy. Absolutely infectious. He surrounded himself with fellow musicians that complemented his style and sensibilities and shared the spotlight with his daughter among other vocalists, guitar, keys, violin, upright bass and horns. It seemed to be more about creating a space where others could share in the joy of music. There was no sense of Ego with Levon Helm. It was more about the music and the celebration of life - like a precious gift or a secret that he was now privy to.

I had a strange sad feeling come over me that this could be the last time I might see Levon Helm perform live. And then his smile lit up the stage and I was caught up again in the revelry that was exuding from him and could not help but to live in the moment. What a high.

They ended the set joined by David Rawlings & Gillian Welch and others as The Weight rang out over the lawn and across the bay.

More soon. I gotta get some sleep - we have a double header in NYC tomorrow. And I'm lovin' every minute of this.

Peace.
K