Girl Power!

By the time Patty Griffin dived into her first song – the childhood-inspired "Chief" – during Ann Arbor's Folk Festival tonight, I was already touching myself to make sure I really was there. I was. Because, by the end of headliners' half of the 4-and-a-half hour show, I melted right into my comfy chair at Hill Auditorium as Griffin (with beeeautiful harmony from Emmylou Harris) gave me a musical morsel I thought I'd leave without: "Mary," a delicate death ode (check out the video recording from a Virginia stop below). It only seemed appropriate that the two gifted guitar goddesses combine folk forces on one of several duets they've recorded. "Mary" no doubt ranks as one of the best. Without it, I'd still be more than satisfied. After all, the latter half of the show was a striking exercise in divine harmonies, goofy monkey-spanking (Emmylou and Shawn Colvin used their squeaky toy monkeys during the chorus of Patty's perseverance-anthem "Mad Mission") and lots of down ditties. Still, that heartbreaking closing gem catapulted the Emmylou-Patty-Shawn show (with guitar great Buddy Miller) from a femme-powered meal into one complete with a delish dessert.