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Three Nights of Downtown Music Echo Across Ground Zero  Music impresario and series curator Michael Dorf announces the next act  Fiona McBain gets things going with Olabelle  Sherman Holmes and the Holmes Brothers rock 7WTC as part of free series  Nick Lowe included some old classics at Music Downtown show Amy Helm and Fiona McBain alternated between lead vocals and beautiful background harmonies on such powerful songs as “Butcher Boy,” “Soul of a Man,” and “Riverside,” with Byron Isaacs on bass and dobro, Tony Leone on drums, and Glenn Patscha on keyboards, with all three taking turns on vocals as well. (Patscha held nothing back on the gospel blues “Get Back Temptation.”) The Holmes Brothers followed, playing a triumphant set of R&B and soul featuring guitarist Wendell Holmes, bassist Sherman Holmes, and drummer Willie “Popsie” Dixon, with all three sharing lead vocals, sometimes on the same song, as on the stellar opener, an intoxicating version of “Amazing Grace.” They also played such hot originals as “Close the Door,” “Gasoline Drawers,” and “Three Gray Walls” from their latest CD, "State of Grace," in addition to “I’m So Lonely” from 2004’s "Simple Truths" and a crowd-pleasing “Jesus Is on the Mainline” to close the set. British songster Nick Lowe ended the night with an acoustic solo performance of songs from throughout his career, from his days in Rockpile up to his latest release, the well-received "At My Age". Lowe was earnest and polite as he played such new tunes as “I Trained Her to Love Me” and “Hope for Us All” as well as such crowd favorites as “Cruel to Be Kind,” “Heart,” “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘N’ Roll)” and “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” but he never quite took off, a bit of a letdown after the powerful sets by Olabelle and the Holmes Brothers. Lowe began to show signs of life on the final encore, “Seven Nights to Rock,” but that was too little, too late. Still, it was another cool night of free music sponsored by Wall Street Rising and put together by impresario Michael Dorf.
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