"Oh My Brother" sung by Eddie From Ohio

Eddie From Ohio, an effervescent and witty folk-rock band from Virgina, came to a club in lower Manhattan, on Leonard Street, I seem to recall, for a previously scheduled show in the week following 9/11. (They deservedly have a loyal following, but have receded into the background, alas, since the lead singer developed breast cancer a couple of years back). The four-person band informed the crowd that they had had to cobble together instruments at the eleventh hour from friends of theirs in New York, as the club was below Canal Street and the guards stationed at the Canal St. road blocks would not let them take their touring truck and its contents through. They were not deterred, even as the audience was palpably dispirited from the events of the previous week. I have seen this band perform at least 8 times, but I have never seen them rise to an occasion as they did that evening, playing and consoling us with a life-giving ebullience and humor. At some point, the group launched into a heartbreakingly plaintive ballad called "Oh My Brother," which brought the room to an instant hush. The lyrics of the song, (which they had recorded on an earlier CD and subsequently re-recorded in a somewhat improved version for a CD to benefit a 9/11 fund) had taken on a new depth and meaning as a result of the 9/11 tragedy. At the song's end, there was no applause: the entire crowd was sobbing audibly, as one. The lead singer was so moved by the response, she said a quiet "thank you," and the room fell silent as we all pulled ourselves together again. It was electrifying, one of the most cathartic moments I have experienced at a music performance. It was the beginning of a long healing process for folks like myself who reside in Lower Manhattan and witnessed the tragedy, and it will remain in my memory whenever I recall those dark weeks.

Jan Stuart