Review: Mark Olson & Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, Exit/In, Nashville 2/14/09
Sunday, February 15, 2009
As a significant latecomer to the Jayhawks, the band had already finished their touring cycle for Rainy Day Music and all but broken up by the time I discovered them in late 2004. Luckily, the first 'Mark Olson & Gary Louris' tour commenced in early 2005, and was, for my purposes, a Jayhawks show in everything but name.
But whereas the 2005 tour was a full-band marathon trip through the past (featuring an anonymous rhythm section who's main duty was to do as little as possible to keep from getting in the way of Mark and Gary), this one was a far more restrained affair, barely clocking in at 90 minutes and featuring just Louris and Olson on acoustic guitars along with an unobtrusive percussionist. I can't say I was sold on the large number of new songs they played anymore than I was from their studio versions (which is to say, not all that much), but hearing their vocals pushed to the front of the mix for the first time really brought out a new appreciation for the duo, providing an ultimate example of how the right combination can be so much more than the sum of its parts.
The stripped down configuration seemed to be the biggest factor in the setlist; rather than taking adventerous chances rearranging the back catalog, they stuck to the mostly mid-tempo Hollywood Town Hall LP with a few similar numbers torn from their other LP's ("Over My Shoulder," the inevitable set-closing "Blue"). One audience request went acknowledged but unfulfilled, with Gary commenting "An acoustic 'Ten Little Kids'...that would be interesting." The show never dragged, but did make it's short 90-minute running time seem appropriate without being able to draw from barn-burners like their Grank Funk cover "Bad Time" or any of Louris' more uptempo pop tunes from Smile or Rainy Day Music (unsurprisingly, the 1997-2003 era was completely ignored) that would have varied the mood a bit.
It was difficult to tell if this was a new beginning for Olson and Louris, or just a fun diversion. Both have established solo careers to varying degrees of success, and despite their best efforts to convince us otherwise last night, Ready For The Flood isn't the great reunion record we all hoped it would be. Predictably, the crowd was more willing to engage in shared nostalgia than to embrace the new material, but everyone simply seemed excited to indulge in the fact that we were able to watch these two guys play and sing together again, and it sounded every bit as spectacular as it did the first time around.
Labels: 1990's, concert review, Gary Louris, Mark Olson, Nashville, The Jayhawks
posted by Steve @ 12:57 PM,
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Steve C.
Steve is a graduate of the music department at Columbia College Chicago and just moved to Nashville. Why? Why not. He likes the crackle and hum of vinyl, long walks on the beach, and bacon. Especially bacon.
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