O Bro: A Musical Celebration of the Coen Brothers

St George’s, Bristol | 25 April

On paper, a live celebration of the Coen Brothers’ musical selections from a keen promenade of musicians was an enticing prospect. The brothers‘ reputation for flawless musical accompaniments to their movies, sometimes building entire worlds around them, is widely acknowledged. 

The ensemble of folk artists on the line-up hinted that the renditions were likely to be drawn from the brilliant O Brother Where Art Thou and more recent music-led Inside Llewyn Davis. The format which proceedings followed in the beautiful surroundings of St George’s Hall were most reminiscent of the variety show the Soggy Bottom Boys play in O Brother. And despite the first performance being a choir singing Down to the River and Pray in 1930s dress, the night’s concept failed to fully materialise.

The evening’s high point was The Pictish Trail sampling the Fargo theme tune, then inviting a female member of the audience to come onstage to be Steve Buscemi’s prostitute from the same film. That we liked. The standard of performance was admirably professional, and these recreations of gospel, country and folk music were charming. However, with the sense of mood and placement these songs evokes in their respective filmic settings, it would have been interesting for the artists to have delved deeper into the Coen’s selections rather than simple reproducing them. In fact, it was only The Pictish Trail and Thomas Truax who made any notable attempts to mix things up. Ultimately, the night’s potential wasn’t truly realised. But still, it was a hell of a lot of fun partaking in a little gospel chanting.

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Words: Tim Oxley Smith