One of those golden moments you hope for at gargantuan music gatherings like the weekend Stagecoach Festival in Indio came Saturday night, when the Judds, Naomi and daughter Wynonna, resuscitated their monstrously successful '80s act in what was billed as a "one-night-only reunion."
It felt far too sweet to go unrepeated, and we'll see whether they can resist the urge to tour again -- not to mention the money awaiting them if they did, as the word "reunion" is pretty much synonymous with "remuneration" in today's concert world.
As it was, the chemistry was magic, their voices meshing on such overtly inspirational hits as "Love Can Build a Bridge" and "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)," the harmonies radiating across the sprawling grounds of the Empire Polo Field. Even hundreds of yards from the stage, which is where the majority of the tens of thousands of fans took in their performance, their mutual love and respect wordlessly communicated the heart and soul of country music.
It's more than familial love, though that crucial element of country tradition was evident in numerous performances Friday and Saturday, including 84-year-old bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs playing alongside sons Gary and Randy and sibling-heavy outfits such as Nashville's Jypsi and L.A.'s Cherryholmes. And it was more than the rewarding interaction among generations, both onstage and among the attendees.
At the core, the Judds' relationship spoke to the power of knowledge and passion, and the ineffable value generated by the transmission of that knowledge from one who possesses it (in this case, Mom) to one who first senses, then yearns for it (Wy).
Less convincing
To the extent that was strikingly obvious during the Judds' set, that depth of commitment was absent from Rascal Flatts' curiously scattershot headlining show Saturday. There were moments when the mega-selling trio tried with feel-good anthems such as "My Wish," but the group hasn't discovered the difference between what it can do, as one of pop music's most commercially successful acts, and what it should.
Working in an abbreviated one-hour slot, Rascal Flatts squandered time away from its breezy pop-country hits on the least funky version ever of James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)," not to mention random screeching solo guitar demonstrations and the inevitable drum solo. Most surprisingly, the trio's biggest asset -- lead singer Gary Le Vox's mellifluous boy-band voice -- was remarkably off pitch in several spots.
