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Hard to believe but The Jayhawks have been with us now since their eponymous debut back in 1986. After a number of fringe-personnel changes, Marc Olsen left to leave the band's other composer Gary Louris with the lion's share of the song-writing chores. But the present day Jayhawks are essentially a four-piece. In addition to the curly-topped Louris, they consist of long-time band members Marc Perlman, Tim O'Reagan, and now Stephen McCarthy.
The album that resulted from Olsen's departure, 1997's landmark The Sound of Lies shifted the focus of the band from neo-traditionalist roots - rockers to a greater reflection of the band's diverse tastes. The album revealed a fondness for multiple-part harmonies, hook-laden guitar-pop with Beatle-esque changes, and a not unreasonable sprinkling of melancholia. It placed the band firmly in a Country-Soul lineage that stretches as far back to the Flying Burrito Brothers and Tony Joe White, and now includes the likes of Matthew Sweet, and Ryan Adams.
This year's Rainy Day Music represented a return to that ol' familiar method of, in Louris' own words, "(writing songs) that sounded good on acoustic guitar". However winning reviews that could justifiably be said to be rave on the Smile tour, the response this time around seems a little muted, and tonight's return is noticeably not sold-out.
In the digitally-dominated airwaves of 2003, its not everybody's flava, but there's a strong enough constituency out there to sustain the band through thick and thin, even if tonight's performance often seems ill-focused, and somehow perfunctory. Early on, Eyes of Sarahjane and Angelyne both objectify the easy distractions and temporary liaisons of the road, a recurring theme in Gary Louris's work. There's an essence of self-mythologizing ("I could never fit into your plans/I'm nobody's man") but one evened up by some rueful self-analysis on Stumbling Through The Dark ("The men who proceeded us here/Left only questions and fears").
The audience are hopeful when the band launch into the Louris/Perlman co-composed Trouble, but once again the overall impression is of a band playing-by-numbers. It's as if the psycho-drama of disillusionment that inform the songs of The Sound Of Lies onwards has finally taken a toll. Perhaps the difficulty lies with Louris himself, as O'Regan's strong performance of his own Tampa To Tulsa is far more assured than Louris' distracted renditions of his self-penned material.
A speedy run-through of Buffalo Springfield's Expecting to Fly only serves to underline this impression, but the whole band rally for a defiant Waiting for the Sun. With a second wind, it's smooth sailing from then on. An impassioned Sixteen Down gives way to a rousing Stumbling Through The Dark, with an emphasis on chiming guitars that can only be summed up as Byrdsian.
The renewed vigour communicates itself to the audience, with special appreciation given to the reference to Manchester, England in All The Right Reasons. The band have enough faith in the new material to leave newer songs like Tailspin and Save It For A Rainy Day for their final bows, and how many other bands of over fifteen-years standing can you say that about?
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