Keillor adds warmth to chilly, damp evening

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION, Red Butte Garden Outdoor Amphitheater, Aug. 22

The nasty weather that blew through Salt Lake City Sunday afternoon nearly derailed Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion "Summer of Love" tour stop at Red Butte Garden's outdoor amphitheater.

But those hearty souls who braved the rain and wind for late opening gates were treated to an extended, and engaging, live version of the long-running pubic radio show that features Keillor's wry storytelling, musical numbers and the much-loved dramatic characters of PHC.

Keillor even wandered out, in a linen suit and his trademark red sneakers, to mingle with attendees who were kept outside the venue for about 90 minutes past the scheduled opening as organizers stalled for the weather to pass. One shivering fan said getting to see the host before the show started "made the wait worth it."

Keillor, whose material draws heavily from his Protestant Minnesota upbringing and Scandinavian-influenced Midwest culture, opened the show with a quip about the rough weather.

"I was brought up in a family that thought the Second Coming was imminent," Keillor said. "Tonight I thought they were right."

Keillor's regular musical accompaniment, the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, joined him onstage Sunday, as well as bluegrass musician Sara Watkins, formerly of the "new grass" trio, Nickel Creek.

Watkins and Keillor performed a series of duets throughout the show, even wandering out into the audience for a "singing intermission" that featured the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "God Bless America."

Watkins also displayed her virtuoso violin talent in a dueling-fiddle number with the Shoe Band's Richard Kriehn.

Keillor gave vignettes well known to PHC fans a Salt Lake twist in dialogue from "The Lives of Cowboys" and "The Adventures of Guy Noir, Private Eye."

The "Summer of Love" theme also figured prominently in the variety show pieces, with sound effects man extraordinaire Fred Newman riffing an incredible sound track for a Keillor spiel that took the audience through the relationship cycle, from first date to firstborn and beyond. Newman does it all virtually without mechanical help, and even if you've heard it for years on the radio, seeing the man pull it off live and on stage was quite a treat.