I haven't been to a concert in about ten years. Last time I think it was The Blue Rags and that was May 20, 1998; I know that cuz I got the poster in front of me. When Bruce at the pawn shop told me that Gary Louris and Mark Olsen, was coming to CSPS I agreed to join up with him there. That was Monday when I pop into town.
Tuesday, I got hit bigtime with the flubug that has been going around. I hate winter, last month it was the damn cold that stuck around for the first twenty days and then this week the damn flu. I spent Tuesday in bed and slept away most of the day and night and felt well enough to go to work the next day but come Thursday I wasn't doing too well but I did slept in for a couple hours before phoning Bruce to get me a ticket, cuz I was going to go see Gary and Mark even if I looked like death warmed over.
Gary and Mark were the cornerstone of the fabled Jayhawks, who made a fabled debut that's hard to find but a Twin Tone album Blue Earth and the first two American Recordings albums were their high water mark. They have such perfect harmonies on those songs such as Waiting For The Sun and Two Angels alternative rock hits of the early 90s and then radio quit playing them, Mark left the Jayhawks and Gary carried on with a couple more albums before pulling the plug on The Jayhawks and settling into a solo career. Mark married Victoria Williams, did a couple albums together and then got divorced. But Gary did help out on Mark's last album which paved the way for their brand new effort called Ready For The Flood, released on New West Records.
I've never been to CSPS but it looks like one of those turn of the century opera houses. Good harmonics and a pleasant place to get together it seems. It was only Gary and Mark and their voices blended in beautifully. As if there was a third voice harmonizing with them. They were meant to play together, to sing together and they played most of the songs off their latest although I wasn't familar with the album. But in a nice gesture, Mark announced that all the proceeds sold from the album at CSPS would go for flood relief. And they did play some of the older and familar Jayhawks songs such as Waiting For The Sun and Two Angels and Blue, their biggest hit. They saved it for last.
I think Mark was suffering from either a cold or flu since he wasn't too receptive at the autograph booth but he was gracious enough to sign the flyer that I had. But I did get to shake Gary's hand after he signed it and he did managed to come up and talk to us before moving on to Chicago for the next show. I can see why people speak highly of Gary when he plays on their albums. Excellent guiarist that fits the mood perfectly.
Gary did mentioned that it's much easier to play in a acoustic setting rather than a electric setting and from tonight's show I can see why. I never did see The Jayhawks when they touring here in the early 90s but when I hear the harmonies that these two guys did tonight, they reminded me of The Everly Brothers of the 50s and Simon And Garfunkel. But what they did tonight at CSPS was just about picture perfect.
