Concert: Three Girls And Their Buddy at Woodland Park Zoo - Emmy Lou Harris, Shawn Calvin, Patty Griffin, and Buddy Miller

It's kind of strange going to a show in your own neighborhood--and a show that starts at 6:00, at that. Most shows I go to you're still waiting for the first band three hours later.

Last night's show by “Three Girls and Their Buddy” was a powerful but mellow night of melody and harmony by four roots stars. They are all accomplished singer-songwriters who play in each other's bands, sing each other's songs, and produce and play on each other's albums. They all mostly have new albums with new songs, and played some of those along with old tunes, and some wonderful covers of various artists (including The Beatles, and Gram Parsons, Emmy Lou's boyfriend in the 60s). My favorite tunes were from Buddy Miller’s recent record with Julie Miller, "Written in Chalk,” in particular the song "Gasoline and Matches." But every single one hit it out of the park more than once, and variously supported each other on guitar, bass, hand percussion and harmony.

For a little over two hours they took turns singing lead and telling a few stories. Buddy's were probably the best, and he put in a few digs against Tacoma, where he lived for a couple of years...and spent much of the rest of the night apologizing. Sort of.

They all sounded good, and it was an inspiring show. It was wonderful to see Buddy Miller back and joking. Earlier in the year, he had a heart attack after one of their shows and was forced to drop off the tour.

Patty Griffin said "I'm 45 years old and I've written two love songs in my life," before singing "Heavenly Day," from her album, "Children Running Through." Emmy Lou Harris, now a 62 year old grandmother, admitted that her mother still insists she wear a bike helmet.

It was like being at a friends house, listening to four people play.

Here is an amateur video from a performance in Colorado two weeks ago:

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