The Band Drummer Levon Helm Rambles On

The 200 some odd people gathered in Levon Helm's Woodstock New York home last Saturday night for his Midnight Ramble concert had plenty of reasons to be joyful. First off, Helm -- lead vocalist on many of The Band's greatest works -- was singing many of those songs again just a few years after it seemed like vocal-cord damage sustained from chemotherapy would forever silence him. Also, the presence of Larry Campbell on guitar (who played in Bob Dylan's band from 1997-2004) made for a killer supergroup composed of two of the greatest live musicians Dylan ever worked with. As joyful as the audience was however, nobody in the large wooden room seemed nearly as happy as Levon himself. Despite his financial hardships and health problems, Helm was grinning from ear to ear the entire night. The sheer euphoria permeating from Helm combined with his incredibly tight band and the uniqueness of the venue made for one of the most uplifting and pure musical experiences I've ever had.

The show is far from cheap (prices were just raised to $200 per ticket) or convenient (Woodstock is a two hour drive from New York City), but in a day when tickets to a boomer band playing a enormodome costs upwards of $400, the intimate show is a relative bargain. After driving down Helm's long, winding driveway, visitors are guided to a parking space in a field by a man with a flashlight. The show takes place in a two-floor wooden barn with a few rows of folding chairs in front of a floor-level stage consisting of little more than Oriental rugs and a wide array of instruments. The chairs go quick and most guests wind up standing around the second floor railing or behind the stage, which offered a perfect view of Helm's drum kit.

After a blistering set by veteran gospel singer Alexis Sutter that included an emotionally charged version of Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927," Helm and his band -- which consisted of his daughter Amy on backing vocals, a two-piece horn section, a piano player, a percussionist and a bassist -- took the stage. From the first few notes of "Man of Constant Sorrow," it was clear that Helm's voice wasn't going to be the least bit of a problem. It sounded almost as rich, throaty and wonderfully Southern as it did on Music From Big Pink, nearly forty years ago. He followed it up with Bruce Springsteen's 1982 classic "Atlantic City," which the Band covered on their highly under-appreciated 1993 album, Jericho. This has always been my single favorite Springsteen cover, and Helm delivered the tale of a down-and-out man's quest for redemption like someone who could definitely relate.

After performing the first ten songs on the mandolin while two men took turns manning the drums, Levon assumed his rightful place behind the kit - causing the entire house to erupt into applause. Has anyone ever made playing drums while singing lead on a song look so easy? Local seventy-eight-year-old bluesman Little Sammy Davis, who sauntered off and on stage all night wearing a bright purple suit and a bowler hat, handled vocals and harmonica on a ferocious cover of the Muddy Waters song "40 Days and 40 Nights." When he was done someone around me muttered, "Why the hell have I never heard of this guy?" Helm was right at home playing on this and other blues songs, some of them he even recorded as a member of Ronnie Hawkins backing band in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Helm doesn't play classic-rock radio staples like "The Weight" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," but he does dig a bit deeper into The Band's repertoire a bit throughout the night. A barn-burning version of "Rag Mama Rag" was an early highlight as was "Don't Ya Tell Henry" -- a Dylan-penned song originally recorded in the basement of another, pinker Woodstock house. Larry Campbell sung lead in lieu of the departed Richard Manuel on the Music From Big Pink classic "Chest Fever." I'd seen Campbell play with Dylan countless times, but it was truly a wonderful sight to finally see him have the freedom to let loose on the guitar and sing lead. Dylan replaced him with two guitarists, but his absence has definitely weakened the band. Levon himself sang "Ophelia" toward the end of the show, and with the two-piece horn section and the ultra-capable backing band it sounded as spellbinding and joyful as the Last Waltz version. The show ended with an uproarious cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River," featuring onstage everyone who had played that night. When it was over, a widely grinning Helm looked as unhappy to get up and leave as the rest of the crowd.