The Musical Box

blue highway: shawn lane, wayne taylor, jason burleson, rob ickes and tim stafford. photo by kimberly miller.

There was perhaps a certain irony in hearing Blue Highway peel back the years to its first album last night at Cosmic Charlie’s to resurrect an early ‘90s tune called Before the Cold Wind Blows late into an immensely enjoyable 85 minute performance. Written and sung by bassist Wayne Taylor – whose jovial tenor vocals revealed numerous country and Appalachian accents – the tune befit the summery settings of bluegrass festival season with its subtle Western sway and crisp instrumentation that moved mandolin ace Shawn Lane over to fiddle. But last night, with this year’s timid winter weather baring its fangs outside and an enthusiastic and sizeable club audience inside, the song was a cordial companion. The cold winds may have wailed in the lyrics and the snow may have been falling in real life, but the music and the setting proved a sure cure for the midwinter blues.

We’re so accustomed to witnessing Blue Highway in festival situations by way of bite-sized, 45 minute sets that hearing the quintet stretch out in the great indoors was a major treat. Opening with the Mark Knopfler-penned title tune to its 2005 album Marbletown, Blue Highway quickly threw its musical cards on the table, from the winning three-part harmonies led by guitarist Tim Stafford to the wild string exchanges between dobro great Rob Ickes and banjoist Jason Burleson.

From there, the band covered the bases that have distinguished its 18 year career. There were early songs like the country-esque The One I Left Behind as well as Lane’s reflective title tune to the band’s 2011 album Sounds of Home (one of the very few times Blue Highway shifted to ballad mode). And while the bulk of the program was devoted to original works by Stafford, Taylor and Lane, there were hefty nods to bluegrass tradition, including Ickes’ wiry joyride through the Bill Monroe staple Wheel Hoss and a warp-speed encore of the Stanley Brothers’ Little Maggie.

As commanding as the musicianship was, and as spirited as the performance turned out to be, the show’s most arresting moment came with the eulogy Some Day, an a cappella gospel quartet tune that showcased Blue Highway’s powerfully unforced vocal harmonies in a setting surrounded by glorious audience quiet.