Dances With Kevin

Costner’s charisma on stage was readily
apparent between each song, as he chopped up the set list by expelling
life lessons to the audience and explaining the background behind every
set of lyrics. He seemed particularly interested in the plight of the
everyday American living in the South, consistently referencing NASCAR,
Louisiana and poverty. “Five Minutes From America” was about the
difficulties Americans face recovering from the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina, something Costner said he witnessed firsthand while
filming a movie in New Orleans.

Modern West, with a rather excessive
four-guitar attack, were tight and well-rehearsed, if a bit dull.
Despite Costner’s charm, it was fiddle player Jason Mowery who
really stole the show. Mowery’s searing fiddle lines and gorgeous lead
playing brightened most songs, and his occasional duels with slide
guitarist Teddy Morgan proved to be musical highlights.

The band walked through pop-country songs such as “90 Miles An Hour” from their album Untold Truths
(Universal South), which was released to relative obscurity in
November, before getting to the thick, slide-drenched rocker
“Backyard.” Costner introduced the song by telling the guys in the
audience to not give up on their dreams, and that they can some day fix
up all the cars on blocks in their back yard. It was a somewhat silly
message from a multimillionaire, but a relatively good song nonetheless.

The theme of the night and of his music in general,
according to Costner, was that guys consistently keep messing up in
some way or another, mainly because “girls make you go cuckoo.” This
admission, coupled with some of the background stories that he offered
for his songs, seemingly gave an interesting look into the life and
mind of the movie star.

The second half of Modern West’s set was
highlighted by the sing-along rock of “Saturday Night,” featuring more
nice slide work by Morgan, and a duet with Sara Beck, singer and wife of Modern West guitarist Park Chisolm,
which bumped the number of guitars on stage up to an unprecedented
five. Set closer “Superman 14” was a softer, touching tune that Costner
dedicated to anyone who lost a friend that they thought they would have
forever, while an encore of “The Sun Will Rise Again” was a hopeful
look at the future.

Costner was aware that the majority of
the crowd did not know his music, and seemed determined to get the
audience involved for the last song of the night. Asking everyone to
raise their hands in the air and sing along if they knew the words to
the concert’s last tune, Costner and Modern West kicked into a version
of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” that provided a familiar air to the
night of brand-new music for those that stayed until the end. Other
than some lingering questions, such as how deep the band’s repertoire
actually goes and whether or not Costner’s guitar was even plugged in,
Modern West delivered some memorable moments of music for the festival
crowd.

—DAN RYS