Concert review: Movie star Kevin Costner brings country-rock to Wormy Dog Saloon
By Brandy McDonnell - Entertainment Writer
Published: February 4, 2009
Buzz up!
Kevin Costner received a fervent greeting worthy of a movie star Tuesday night from the capacity crowd at the Wormy Dog Saloon in Bricktown.
He and his band Modern West made music that sometimes warranted the loud and avid cheers, especially when he was growling along to country-rockers powered by a scorching fiddle, soulful harmonica and grinding guitars.
The sold-out crowd numbering abou t 750 – people were trying to buy tickets right up until the moment the show started — jammed the ground level of the Bricktown venue and howled with excitement when Costner quietly took the stage with a boyish grin and laid-back wave. The unexpectedly diverse audience — the crowd ranged from the expected throng of middle-aged men and women to folks who looked barely old enough to meet the Wormy Dog’s 21-and-older requirement — was clearly thrilled to see the Oscar winner up close.
Dressed casually in a dark ball cap and black button-down shirt, Costner, 54, quickly acknowledged the reason for the enthusiastic welcome.
“Before I go any further here I want to thank you for going to the movies all these years,” he said before launching into the first song.
The band opened with a rumbling rendition of “R ed River,” from ‘90s Midwestern roots rockers The BoDeans, and Costner revealed a gravelly singing voice startlingly different from the modulated tones so familiar from his films. He kept rasping and his talented six-man band kept rocking through the first few songs, including “5 Minutes from America,” about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and “Long Hot Night,” about losing a love and living with mistakes.
The actor-turned-musician shared stories about his family’s Oklahoma roots, telling about ancestors who traveled from the East to the state Panhandle on the Trail of Tears and his grandfather’s Dust Bowl pilgrimage from Oklahoma to California.
“You don’t get more Midwestern than mid-Oklahoma ... and sometimes it’s easy to think about this place in other terms, but some of the most resourceful, toughest people in the world come from here,” he said.
In between crooning and strumming his acoustic guitar, Costner often launched in rambling stories about his family or the roots of the band’s original songs. But his tales could barely be heard over the clinking of beer bottles, the chattering of patrons and the shuffling of boots at the Wormy Dog.
“I know that last story was as long as my movies but tough s- - -,” Costner joked with a grin after weaving a long Dust Bowl yarn. “I’ve a got a few more but I probably won’t tell ‘em.”
By the fourth song, the road anthem “90 Miles an Hour,” Costner’s voice had settled into a markedly mellower and less distinctive tone as the band shifted into a series of middle-of-the-road introspective country-rockers. The midtempo, ‘80s-tinged heartland rock songs all seemed to blend together, and the crowd’s biggest cheer came when Costner referenced his beloved film “Field of Dreams” on the track “Every Intention.”
“Who would have thought a little movie like that would have gone this far, but that’s what movies can do when they’re at their best,” Costner said, dedicating the song “for anyone who’s ever waited too long.”
The band redeemed its set with the old-fashioned country ballad “Down in Nogales,” which had Costner channeling Marty Robbins, along with the testosterone-fueled NASCAR tribute “Backyard” and the raucous drinking song sing-along “Saturday Night.” One of the highlights was the debut of a new song, a seductive country-rocker called “Maria May.”
Costner had only to spread his arms and grin winningly at the crowd to earn avid shouts, but violinist Bobby Yang proved the scene-stealer, amazing the audience with his fleet and furious fiddle work. The crowd demanded an encore the=2 0moment the band left the stage, and Costner and Co. quickly returned for four more songs.
The band finished on a strong note with a rollicking country-fried cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” which got the crowd crooning along.
“It was a privilege to be here and see you at the movies,” Costner said as he bid the crowd farewell.
Costner & Modern West received able assistance from opening act the Paula Nelson Band. The Austin, Texas, band, led by smoky-voiced singer-songwriter Paula Nelson, set a rocking tone with its electric Southern rockers “Baby You’re Mean,” “Standing Tall” and “Fire Below.” Again, it was a Dylan cover that got the crowd singing along, as Nelson and George Devore produced terrific harmony on20a country-fied version “It Ain’t Me Babe.”
The band’s diminutive front woman, daughter of country legend Willie Nelson, easily showed off powerfully bluesy pipes that bore no small resemblance to her famous father’s singular voice.
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