Simple Country Folk

Image credit: Krauss and Tyminski: J.F. Keaton / Retna

Host Bob Neuwirth, the folkie who introduced all the acts and sat in a comfy love seat at stage right while they played, interjected the occasional topical note, introducing Norman Blake's version of ''You Are My Sunshine'' as including ''the rarely heard fourth verse that cements its reputation as the world's greatest codependency anthem.''

But a lot of the show's vintage songs showed that the old-timers had little time for codependency when they were so fixed on heaven and hell. There were a couple of murder ballads, including Stanley's take on ''Pretty Polly,'' a bloody ditty that established long before Nirvana that girls named Polly just are not destined to fare well in the popular songbook.

And, of course, there was gospel up the wazoo. The preteen Peasall sisters reprised ''In the Highways,'' the sprightly spiritual the diminutive threesome performed in the movie. ''Angel Band,'' an old Stanley Brothers version of which is heard in the film, got a group-sing here, with Emmylou Harris, who once recorded an all-gospel album of that name, joining in. Stanley led a call-and-response version of ''Amazing Grace'' at evening's end.

It was Stanley's climactic appearance that really reinforced how doggone fleeting his and everyone else's appearance seemed. We'll soon get more of his ragged-but-right Americana, as Burnett has just finished producing a Stanley solo album. If you live in a major city, you may soon get more of the whole lot of 'em, as the tour is reportedly set to resume on the amphitheatre circuit this summer.

You can hardly blame anyone involved for wanting to milk the moment, before bluegrass and pre-Nashville country inevitably lose their sexy ''O Brother'' sheen and return to the status of marginalia. The audience was in a celebratory mood, sharing in the incredibly unlikely triumph of having this music burning up the charts, but there was a valedictory undercurrent, too, knowing the fluke won't likely be repeated, and that we shan't see Dr. Stanley's likes again... at least this side of ''O Death,'' to cite his new signature song. But -- oh, brother! -- is this underdog victory sweet, while it lasts.