It was a skeleton version of the Jayhawks that appeared at the Birchmere Wednesday night, but even though the Minneapolis band was stripped to its’ basic elements---guitarist and songwriter Gary Louris, drummer Tim O’ Reagan and bassist Marc Pearlman---none of the incandescence of their hooks was diminished. The Jayhawks began as country rockers, but that ceased being an accurate moniker for them when co-founder Mark Olson left the band in 1995. Since then, with Louris as chief singer/composer, they have evolved into masters of the kind of gloriously well crafted pop rock songs that could be heard wafting from the FM radio in the mid-1970’s. Combining the artful parts of The Faces, Neil Young and Grand Funk Railroad with his own sizable talent for pop hooks, Louris formulates a new and welcome strain of classic rock.
All three Jayhawks played acoustic guitar throughout the evening, with O’ Reagan playing a minimal drum kit and providing harmonies to Louris’ penetrating lead vocals. The songlist was a mix of vintage (“Ain't No End”, “Clouds”, “Blue”), more recent (“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”, “Smile”, “Haywire”) and cover (Tim Hardin’s “Reason to Believe”) versions that served the acoustic format well. Louris added harmonica to several songs, which blew the spirit of Dylan through the room, especially on “Nothing Left to Borrow”, the ‘Hawks subtle homage to “Like A Rolling Stone”.
The short tour the Jayhawks are currently on is seemingly intended as an exercise in preparation for recording a new album, and the passion with which they played, as well as the inclusion of several new songs---notably Louris’ magnificent “Pretty Little Hairdo”---indicate the band’s career remains in the middle of a creative renaissance.
Washington Post, 2002
