Junkies: Masterfully Understated

Good ideas always work. And if the Cowboy Junkies no longer enjoy the mass media heat of a decade ago, the best of its strangely muted sound remains stirring.

At the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on Monday, the Canadian act showed the same dark undercurrent of sound, finding that once-unexpected connection between the Velvet Underground and the Dust Bowl. The band’s early records also reflected the influence of Bob Dylan, even in some ways anticipating the murky flavor of his work with Daniel Lanois.

The key ingredient on Monday was the rich, dramatic voice of Margo Timmins, as brother Michael led the band from stage right. His near-religious commitment to understatement was shown in an otherwise fiery guitar solo that never grew louder than the band’s trademark muffled beats.

“Murder in the Trailer Park” still has real bite, with a psychedelic mandolin solo adding a weird edge, drifting toward the starkness of Crazy Horse. Elsewhere, the newer material was elegant, jazzy and vulnerable.

Margo was a loose and amusing host, alternately warm and silly, talking as easily about her “Catholic guilt” as about a scene in the film “Poltergeist” that really annoyed her. And when distant cheering from the Hollywood Bowl could be heard between songs, she joked, “They love us over there.” Which made it unanimous.