live @ 930 Club 11.15.2000
No musician has ever worn cooler-looking glasses than Gary Louris. The leader of The Jayhawks and his distinctive silver-framed specs were looking sharp at the 930 Club Wednesday night as his band played a wide-ranging and spirited two-hour show. Though the Jayhawks latest album, “Smile”---produced by Bob Ezrin, best known for his work with Kiss and Pink Floyd---has a smooth sound that alienated some longtime fans, Wednesday’s show proved that despite the album’s pop/rock textures, the Jayhawks’ country-rock roots are still strong. Louris’ songs from “Smile” sounded even better than the record, as his guitar mixed with that of Kraig Johnson to emphasize rough edges, while confirming his status as a great (and underrated) American songwriter
While Louris’ song choices emphasized “Smile”, he also opened his back catalog, mixing the older “Settled Down Like Rain” and “I’d Run Away” with newer songs like “Somewhere In Ohio” and “What Led Me To This Town”. Especially effective was a duet with keyboardist Jen Gunderman on “A Break In the Clouds” and drummer Tim O’ Reagan’s singing on his own “Bottomless Cup”.
Louris and the Jayhawks also covered a wide range of outside songwriters: William Bell (via-”Sweetheart of the Rodeo”) on “You Don’t Miss Your Water”, Margaret Ann and Charlie Rich’s monumentally sad “Life Has It’s Little Ups and Downs”, even Eric Carmen’s overwrought “All By Myself”. The two latter songs came during a half-hour encore which ended with “Baby Baby Baby” and Louris jumping offstage to solo in the crowd. He then handed his axe to the band’s roadie, who promptly finished the song, while Louris headed backstage, shaking hands. A good exit. A very good set.
Washington Post, November 2000
