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It takes a lot to go toe-to-toe with Kelly Willis’ voice, but Bruce Robison’s songs were up to the task Saturday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

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Together, Willis and Robison gave a performance that effortlessly echoed the best of classic country music. Introduced as “The Austin power couple,” the married musicians exhibited such a natural rapport while harmonizing and bantering that it was obvious that they’re in love. Watching such matched souls play so together is a rarity. It was more than a little reminiscent of watching Johnny and June Carter Cash.

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Willis’ talent is the most obvious. There’s something about a female classic country voice. Some women country singers, while having a great voice, have such a strong accent that they can come off as cartoonish or even as a parody. What makes Willis sound so classic yet original is her voice is about 75 percent country and 25 percent urban. The combination makes her voice subtly unique, and places it in country’s past and present at the same time. Her voiced shined early on “What World Are You Living In?” – a song she co-wrote with Gary Louris of The Jayhawks. The sound man could have raised Willis’ vocals a tad, but they may have been at the level they were at so she could maximize her harmonizing with Robison. Her sassy humor between songs was a treat, too. Robison followed some news songs by saying it was time to play some that they knew the words to. “Don’t go making promises,” Willis said. Later, when she answered one of her husband’s songs about an old girlfriend with one about an old boyfriend, it prompted Robison to say, “It’s not a contest.” “Oh, yes it is!” she shot back.

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At first, Robison’s physical appearance is dominating to the point of visual distraction. He stands about a foot taller than his wife. However, his presence is graceful from his physical movement to his impeccable songwriting, which quickly commands the spotlight. Robison wrote No. 1 hits for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (“Angry All the Time”), the Dixie Chicks (Travelin’ Soldier”) and George Straight (“Wrapped”), and claimed all as his own with authority. While his voice can’t compare to his wife’s (and, really, how many can?), Robison has a good one that deserves to be heard beyond a demo.

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Willis and Robison played most acoustic guitar with Willis putting hers down to shake a shaker and Robison occasionally blowing a harp. Geoff Queen on pedal steel guitar and an electric Fender and Will Dupuy on standup bass accompanied them. The venue’s superior acoustics heightened the talent onstage, though the reverential crowd’s respectful quiet threatened to keep the performance from reaching its potential in such a sterile atmosphere. At one point leading into “The Good Life,” Robison said it was time to turn the place into a honky tonk with some dancing, but the crowd didn’t take him up on it. Still, the ability to clearly hear the music and all its subtleties beat the alternative. The new “Waterfall” and “Take Me Down” featured surprising instrumental flourishes at the end that sweetened the listen and emphasized that this was no formulaic new country schlock.

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Robison expressed the couple’s appreciation for the turnout on a weekend when Lollapalooza was in town. “Thanks for coming,” he told the crowd before his “Lifeline” closed the main set. “We know you had a choice.” Perhaps because of the festival’s competition, the two scheduled shows that were scheduled were condensed into one due to ticket sales. That was good news for those who chose the country show over the rock extravaganza. The setlist unfolded at a leisurely, relaxed pace. The main set featured 20 songs, including some new ones that sounded recording ready, followed by an encore of “Angry All The Time” which featured only Robison and Willis and, on a decidedly more positive note with Queen and Dupuy returning to play, “Heaven’s Just a Sin Away.” Lollapalooza, at least in its early years, represented an alternative for music fans. On Saturday night, Willis and Robison provided the alternative at the Old Town School of Folk Music.   
                  
The setlist:

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Sweet Sundown
What World Are You Living In?
The New Me
Waterfall
Heaven Bound
Desperately
Not Forgotten You
Say Goodbye
Wrapped
(Don’t Want to Love You) But I Do
Dreamin’
If I Left You
The Good Life
Leavin’
He Don’t Care About Me
My Brother and Me
Take Me Down
Travelin’ Soldier
Wait Until Dark
Lifeline

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Angy All The Time

Heaven's Just a Sin Away

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Start: 8:33 p.m./Finish: 10:12 p.m.

Totals: 22 songs, one hour 39 minutes

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Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis

August 6, 2011 @ Old Town School of Music

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Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis

August 6, 2011 @ Old Town School of Folk Music

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