To begin their encore, The Blind Boys of Alabama entreated the Lincoln Center in that familiar melody, "People get ready, there's a train a 'comin/You don't need no baggage, you just get on board." Such was the transcendent undercurrent that ran through the entirety of the evening's music, which featured gospel standards, spirituals, and original numbers from Jim James, Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, and Exene Cervenka.
The swank and generally middle-aged audience exchanged a glance or two when the self-proclaimed "afrofuturist" Sun Ra Arkestra blanketed us in an atonal big-band atmosphere, punctured here and there by saxophone squeaks, muted brass blasts, and cryptic harmonic hums, alongside ambient Yo La Tengo and the aptly titled Blind Boys. The Yo La Tengo threesome remained on stage for most of the night, where they supplied a deep, stylized dimension of electric guitar and reverb to each iteration of gospel music. It took the Blind Boys et al. two songs to warm up, but once they did, they caught fire. By the third song, "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven," Arkestra octogenarian Marshall Allen had routed a direct line between each nimble-fingered sax scratch and my internal goosebump button.
The next set belonged to Lambchop, Nashville's ever-shifting music collective responsible for nudging alt-country into bluegrass-soul. Front man Kurt Wagner possessed great style and presence, though his tucked-in oxford shirt, khaki pants, and sneaker outfit didn't show it. Impassioned lyrics met flailing limbs as Wagner danced the line between folk singer and beat poet. Lambchop's exit was met by the entrance of punk legend Exene Cervenka, whose set included a cover of Sam Cooke's "Change is Gonna Come." Cervenka handled the first and second verses, then handed it over to the Blind Boys, who expertly instilled the lyrics with the incomparable esprit of 1960's soul.
Then it was My Morning Jacket's Jim James - operating under the not-so clandestine pseudonym Yim Yames - whose acoustic rendition of "Wonderful" silenced the crowd. James's melodic precision and clear, unwavering voice reminded me of James Taylor, though at moments it took on ashen qualities befitting of the bona-fide rock star he is. His rendition of The Monsters of Folk's "Dear God" was particularly poignant, as James implored the heavens in a stricken falsetto, "Why do we suffer?" During "Satisfied Mind," the especially histrionic Jimmy Carter leaped to his feet and announced to the audience, "I got a satisfied mind! Do you hear me?" He then tore into a huge note with a wide vibrato, showcasing the kind of vocal longevity that elicits applause about three-quarters of the way through.
The Blind Boys left the stage to their largest ovation, and returned with their band to perform the indelible "People Get Ready," Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," and an "Amazing Grace" over the guitar lick from "House of the Rising Sun." Our friend Jimmy Carter saw an opportunity during the latter to blast another lung-buster, his voice dropping down an octave as he took his seat, and jumping back up as he stood, all without taking a breath. Finally, the Blind Boys invited the entire all-star cast back out onstage for a rousing "If I Had a Hammer," each performer assuming a verse or two. It was truly a show for the soul, encapsulating the best elements of a Southern Baptist church on Sunday morning, save lunch afterward.
