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I’ve really tried to be a little more positive about music in 2009, which is a little bit challenging when your cruising the Internet for news results in you running across one ridiculously hyped act after another. Still, there are moments when I’m reminded why I care so much, and reading about a Gary Louris/Mark Olson show at my beloved Club Congress in April was one of them.
Although my enthusiasm for alt-country has diminished rapidly since the beginning of the century, the output of the classic Louris/Olson lineup of the Jayhawks—especially 1995’s Tomorrow The Green Grass—is still some of my favorite music ever put to tape. The harmonies between the two are off-kilter and weird, but just perfect. I’ve liked what both singers have done since their time together in the Jayhawks came to an end, including their recent “reunion” album of sorts Ready for the Flood, but somehow I’ve managed to miss seeing either of them live, and certainly not together. Sure, the two have toured here and there playing Jayhawks music since 2006, but somehow not anywhere where I’ve actually been living, so the news that they were coming to Tucson was welcome. There are a ton of great shows coming to Tucson in the next few months (SXSW overflow, largely), but for me, April 13 can’t come soon enough.
“Blue”:
“Waiting For The Sun”:
“I’d Run Away” (mysteriously with video clips from Manhattan?):
Louris/Olson – Ready For The Flood [MySpace]
You know what’s fun? Sing “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” over “Waiting for the Sun.”
Why Dan Gibson, I do believe you have made my day. I should have grabbed Hollywood Town Hall for the car ride home today.
Btw, the Tomorrow The Green Grass lineup reunited in Spain last year and are doing it again (in Spain, again) this year. Hopefully they’ll bring that tour to North America, but in the meantime do not miss the Louris/Olson tour – two voices, two acoustic guitars, and the finest harmonies this side of the Everly Brothers.
Proving once again why it’s so damn frustrating at times to live in Phoenix. Why should I have to drive to Tucson to see this show? Why isn’t that coming here — to the nation’s fifth largest city — instead?
I remember hearing “Blue” for the first time and having it literally stop me in my tracks.
@SAShepherd: Come on down, I’ll buy you a beer.
I saw Louris & Olson in Chicago a few weeks back. It was really great to hear them sing the Jayhawks stuff, but the Waiting For the Flood stuff really paled in comparison.
It was weird, actually — I really like ‘Waiting For the Flood,’ but hearing the new songs interspersed with “Nothing Left to Borrow,” “Two Angels,” and “Blue” just pointed up how weak the new stuff is in comparison.
The first review to go up on JayhawksFanPage.com was a negative review (that I happened to pretty much agree with) and then there are lots of pages about how awesome the show actually was, etc. I dunno.
It was beyond cool to see the two of them singing together, and I totally appreciate that they’re touring behind new material and not as a nostalgia act. But for me the sign of a good show is wanting to put on the artist’s album as soon as I get home; when I got home after this show I immediately put on ‘Tomorrow the Green Grass.’
@Dan Gibson: Louris, Olson, *and* a beer. You make a tempting offer, sir.
I couldn’t agree more re Tomorrow The Green Grass. I still listen to that album (and HTH) very frequently. Also I don’t blame them for choosing to reunite in Spain – hands down the best country on earth for rock touring.
Oh, MAN. JAYHAWKS. I’d forgotten all about them! I’m going to go re-buy *everything* post haste, as I have no idea where my CDs are. And for some reason, this reminds me that I also used to really like Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Hm.
It’s nice to connect with other Jayhawks lovers. I’ve felt alone for a long time. Louris and Olson truly know how to spin aural magic. Oh, and good call on the Everly Brothers comparison, Thierry!