Levon Helm, the legendary drummer/singer from the Band, played a rousing and inspirational set that went well over two hours; a set which featured a rustic and rollicking take on the Americana genre which his band was so influential in popularizing.

Helm was backed for the marathon show by an exceptionally strong 11 piece collective led by band leader Larry Campbell, who has done similar work with Bob Dylan on his Never Ending Tour. The band featured a revolving cast of guitars, bass, mandolin, a five-piece horn section, organ and backup singers in addition to Helm on the drums for the majority of the set. Walking out to a thunderous ovation, Helm and the band wasted little time tearing into a great rendition of the classic Band song “Ophelia,” which elicited a booming applause from the crowd. After the blistering start the band settled into a loose, jammy mood with each band member, including both his daughter and Campbell’s wife, taking a prominent role. A large portion of the set highlighted cover songs and traditionals, all with a feeling of celebration.

The covers ranged from a jazzy take on Bob Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate,” sung with scratchy voiced authority by organ player Brian Mitchell to two Grateful Dead tunes (the scorching “Deep Elum Blues” and “Tennessee Jed”) to the exhilarating New Orleans Dixieland jazz of Dr. John’s “Mardi Gras Days,” which featured especially funky solos by the horn section.

Worries about Helm’s voice, which has been affected by his battle with throat cancer in the late ’90s, were never founded as he commanded attention each time he took over singing duties. Like his jams at his barn in Woodstock, Helm made the whole evening feel more like a hootenanny than a high priced concert. Helm, whose pastoral southern drawl brought authority and authenticity to the Band’s Faulkner-esqe songs, showed his still great singing voice on the older songs his band covered during the show. Choice cuts included the grimy Willie Dixon song “Same Thing”, “Got Me a Women,” “Great Train Robbery” from his excellent 2007 disc Dirt Farmer, the Buck Owens song “Ashes of Love” and the sparse, violin & mandolin accompanied “Anna Lee.”

Not surprisingly, the biggest responses of the night came when Helm dusted off a few of the timeless songs from the Band however. “Rag Mamma Rag” found Helm in fine form and “The Shape I’m In” was stunning. The song, like “Simple Twist of Fate” and “Mardi Gras Days,” was sung by keyboardist Brian Mitchell. The band ended the set with a wonderful take on “The Weight,” which brought the crowd to its feet as the band exited the stage. According to set lists from previous shows the band hasn’t been doing encores, but apparently the rambunctious crowd at the Fitz earned what eventually materialized into a nice two song encore. Helm and company finished the night with two upbeat songs, “Stand by Me” and “Rock and Roll Shoes,” before exiting to yet another standing ovation.

Helm, who is in his mid 70s, could easily be resting on his laurels or playing nostalgia-aimed act aimed toward the casino crowd, but he has chosen not to. Despite leaving out some great songs by the Band (including “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek”) that would have been eaten up by the crowd, you got the sense that at this point Helm and his band were playing what they wanted to play. Through the show Helm had a smirk that showed a man who has not only survived his health problems, but was clearly relishing playing the music that he loved at such a high level. After especially good solos or great lead vocal performance (especially by his daughter), Helm raised his fist, shot a thumbs up and smiled like a kid in a candy store. You also got the sense that his backing band recognized the gigantic presence they were supporting while summoning everything they could in order they kept pace with Helm. Watching the giant smiles on both Helm’s and the band members’ faces during the show gave me the distinct impression that they would have played their funky and soulful songs with as much vigor no matter if it was a full house or an empty practice space. Having a dancing and cheering audience simply took it to another level and helped express what they already knew: they were a great band backing to a stone cold musical legend. While I am often skeptical of seeing musical heroes late in their career for fear that they will be a shell of their former selves, seeing Helm was a case where I left the show with an even deeper respect for his work and his massive skills as a singer and musician.

[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm]

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