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Gary Louris March 30, 2008 Reviewed by Adam D. Miller It’s the dawn of a new era for Gary Louris, who after twenty-two years with The Jayhawks has embarked on a solo career. He’s released an album, Vagabonds (read our review here), and has just wrapped up a brief North American tour that took him to northeastern cities such as Minneapolis, Madison, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston and New York. An opening slot by San Francisco-based Veviter got the show under way. The four-piece band of roots rockers, led by guitarist/vocalist Andy Cabic, boasted a steady rhythm section (including drummer Otto Heiser, who played on Vagabonds), solid guitar interplay and articulate vocals, coming off as equal parts Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Nick Lowe and The Velvet Underground. After several originals, some of which have yet to be recorded, Cabic related his love of Toronto to the audience and launched into a cover of Great Speckled Bird’s “Long Long Time To Get Old,” a song that features the lines “The eagle’s flying tomorrow / mosquito biting me today / I ride the bus to Toronto / highway 2 all the way.” They were joined by Eric Heywood, who would return – with Veviter – to back Gary Louris a short while later. Taking to the stage in his trademark sunglasses and Dylanesque head of curly hair, Louris treated the audience to almost two dozen songs, including a healthy sampling of Vagabonds, a wallop of Jayhawks favorites, and a few rarities and surprises as well. Eric Heywood was given an opportunity to shine right away, with Vagabonds’ “Omaha Nights” serving as the opening song of Louris’ set. Audience response escalated with the opening chords of the next track, “I’d Run Away,” a Jayhawks fan favorite from 1995’s Tomorrow The Green Grass. Other early highlights included “Every Word,” the song Louris penned for the crossword puzzles documentary Wordplay, the somber “She Only Calls Me On Sundays” from Vagabonds and “Everybody Knows,” a song co-written with the Dixie Chicks for their award winning Taking The Long Way album. As with Dan Wilson’s version of that album’s “Easy Silence” and Crowded House’s take on “Silent House,” it was interesting to hear a song familiarized by female vocalists sung from a different perspective. For obvious reasons, the Jayhawks songs generated the most enthusiastic responses throughout the evening. Most of the audience had discovered Gary Louris by way of The Jayhawks and not his solo release. “Waiting For The Sun” and “Save It For A Rainy Day” were met with some of the most enthusiastic cheers of the evening, though the audience remained engaged through new tracks like “DC Blues” and “Wanna Get High” as well. The main set closed with The Jayhawks’ “Blue,” featuring Andy Cabic filling in for Mark Olson. For his encore, Louris emerged on his own with an acoustic guitar for solo renditions of Golden Smog’s “Listen Joe” and Jayhawks favorites “Settled Down Like Rain” and “Angelyne.” Then came the big surprise of the evening, as Louris introduced Toronto country rockers The Sadies, who served as backing band on The Jayhawks’ “Tailspin” and Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” Although Veviter returned for “Vagabonds” and a stellar rendition of Golden Smog’s “Until You Came Along,” it was The Sadies who stole the show and proved to be a great surprise to those in the audience who may not have seen them show up with their instruments in hand a few hours earlier. Gary Louris has succeeded in launching the next phase of his career, though fans will hang onto their Jayhawks nostalgia for now. Not only is Louris happy to treat his audience to plenty of songs by his old band, he’s also releasing a collaborative lbum with Mark Olson later this year. Expect a lot more nostalgia on the tour that will undoubtedly follow. |  |
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