The Jayhawks “Live at the ABC Theatre- Glasgow, Scotland” – CONCERT REVIEW

Posted 04 Aug 2011 in Music + TV News, Stephen Dalrymple

LIVE: The Jayhawks, ABC Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland.

It gives me great pleasure to report that The Jayhawks are in fine fettle.

On a horribly muggy and humid evening the band finally made it back to Glasgow, a city which has long been home to a warm welcome for these fellas (and Karen!).

Once again they took the place by storm and left a delighted fan-base in their wake.

It was, to be fair, a bit of a shaky start. “Wichita” had slight sound problems and Gary Louris seemed a little disinterested at first. No such worries about Mark Olson however, he was on the ball from the off, no doubt warmed up nicely by the short support set he’d provided.

All minor problems were ironed out quickly and by the third song “Real Light” Louris was getting into the mood and may even have cracked a smile at this point, no doubt his spirits were lifted by the sheer exuberance of the audience who were loving every moment, especially the dazzling riffs he was firing from that Gibson which he wields so well.

The first real highlight was a spectacular version of “Red’s Song”, a beautifully constructed song which served as a great showcase for the marvelous interplay and synchronicity which Louris and Olson have on stage. When they harmonize together it’s quite something and when they do that dual vocal thing and trade licks it takes it up to a whole new level.

The bulk of the current set is drawn from the bands two classic albums “Hollywood Town Hall” and “Tomorrow The Green Grass”, well-worn favourites which the capacity crowd lapped up. A few new songs from the forthcoming album made an appearance and went down well, I was particularly fond of “Black Eyed Susan” with it’s fantastic extended ending, Olson singing his heart out whilst Louris intones “It’s gonna be a long road”…….

By this point the band seemed genuinely amazed at what a reception they were getting, the roar at the end of each song was deafening with extra vigour thrown in for “I’d Run Away” and “Miss Williams’ Guitar” and of course that old familiar beauty “Blue” which simply seems to get better and better every time they play it !

During the first encore came a real treat, drummer Tim O’Reagan gave us a wonderful and heartfelt rendition of “Tampa To Tulsa”, a song of great beauty which gave us all pause to reflect on life, love, the universe and all that.

All in all then, a fine evening’s entertainment and as the house lights came up; off we trooped into the night with great memories of a superb band.

Or so we thought!

As my friend and I neared the exit it became apparent that the cheering and clapping from the plucky souls down at the front was refusing to die down and , lo and behold, here came the band , dragged back by popular demand for one final blast through “Clouds”, amazing stuff.

Oh yes, The Jayhawks are in fine fettle indeed!

— Stephen Dalrymple, Glasgow, Scotland