Introducing "The Road," a gentle Hard Bargain folk-rocker and "tip of the hat" to her late musical partner Gram Parsons, she said she'd "always had a soft spot for Houston" and reminisced about the night Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt sat in with Parsons and Harris at Liberty Hall. She plugged her former guitarist and "Houston Kid" Rodney Crowell (and his new book) before one of the night's most pleasant surprises, a steely and Cajun-inflected turn through Crowell's stiff-upper-lip tribute to Harris, "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues."

That may be true, but cowgirls can chase the blues too. Anchored by Harris' sturdy rhythm strumming on her hefty, high mounted acoustic guitars, the Red Dirt Boys mixed earth-toned instrumental textures like a great watercolor artist might do: Spare acoustic guitar, ominous bass drum and faint keyboard strings on "Emmett Till"; electric and acoustic mandolins, accordion and fiddle on Carter Family Cajun half-hoedown "Hello Stranger" (lotsa Louisiana Wednesday); plinking piano on first-rate honky-tonkers "Wheels" and "Together Again"; etched-glass guitar from Will Kimbrough on "Six White Cadillacs" and "One of These Days"; and "Baba O'Reilly" quicksilver fiddle from Rickie Simpkins on "Luxury Liner."

Priestess, Earth mother, grieving widow, spry roadhouse queen - Harris was all those things Wednesday. She could make you feel God's breath in your ear one minute, and the next, when she let that silver hair down, like she and her Boys were playing to beat the devil himself. A master at work.

Personal Bias: Gosh. I'll have to think about that one.

The Crowd: Older, and quiet as the Cactus Café. Kudos. Except...

Overheard In the Crowd: "Can you hear me?" That's right, the dude next to us was so impressed by Harris' Liberty Hall story he had to share it with a friend immediately. Ever heard of texting?

Random Notebook Dump: Earlier Wednesday, one of Aftermath's writers had the idea for all of us to say which lyric we'd like to put on either our tombstone or our business cards. I'll go with "I've been a long lost soul for a long, long time" from "Luxury Liner."

SET LIST

Six White Cadillacs Orphan Girl Red Dirt Girl Kern River If I Needed You Hello Stranger If I Could Only Win Your Love Pancho & Lefty My Name Is Emmett Till Home Sweet Home The Road O Evangeline Green Pastures Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Get Up John Sin City Tulsa Queen Wheels Luxury Liner Love and Happiness (w/Kimmie Rhodes) The Ship on His Arm Shores of White Sand (w/Kimmie Rhodes) The Pearl Together Again Born To Run

ENCORE

One of These Days Boulder to Birmingham