Review: Jayhawks - 12/20/03 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

Night two of the madness continues...

33 songs. Again. 2-1/2 hours. Again. A fan could kinda get used to this!

Another fine evening. Everybody seemed in good spirits and the wonderful music just kept a-flowin'.

Random thoughts:

* By my reckonin', 13 songs were played Saturday that weren't played Friday (not counting the aborted "Fools on Parade" from Friday). That's 45 songs in two nights! Gary said last night that they were going to continue to break out more songs; he evidently isn't kidding.

*The choir was a bit more audible -- and effective -- last night.

* Karen's upright was replaced with an electronic kybd. Although the piano sounded fine in the house on Friday, my guess is that it didn't work out right for the multi track recording that is being done at these shows, hence the replacement.

* The slower, sadder, quieter version of "Settled Down Like Rain" with Steven picking away on the banjo is just breathtakingly good. One of the major highlights both nights.

* More new SOL highlights. "Bottomless Cup," "Sound of Lies," and even "Poor Little Fish," which came off really well after a false start. That's what trying to rehearse 60+ songs in a week will get ya. They've already played over half of the album -- let's see what tonight will bring.

* "Broken Harpoon" and "Sound of Lies" -- Gary at his most beautiful, to borrow a phrase from R.E.M.

* The rarely played "Caught With a Smile on My Face" (from the RDM bonus disc) was another surprise for the faithful.

* "Red's Song," "Nevada, CA" and "The Baltimore Sun" were all played again, providing some of the biggest thrills of the night for long-time fans.

* They did "I Am the Cosmos" (an excellent post-Big Star 45 from Chris Bell) at soundcheck, which resulted in a magnificent version during the 2nd encore, complete with Jim Boquist on lead guitar and bg vox. Don't think i've heard them do this since 97 (Taste of MN perhaps?).

* 3 more songs from RDM made their bow last night -- "You Look So Young," "Sarajane," and "All the Right Reasons" -- and all sounded just swell, especially ATRR.

* After an aborted effort on Friday, "Fools on Parade" -- Gary's best bigdumbrocker since "Get the Load Out" -- closed out the night, rocking like crazy, kicking ass and taking numbers.


Jayhawks
First Ave. - Mpls - 12/20/03


1. Stumbling Through the Dark
2. Angelyne
3. Jennifer Save Me (Kraig = electric gtr / Jessy)
4. Clouds
5. Two Hearts (Kraig = acoustic gtr / Jessy)
6. You Look So Young
7. Life Floats By
8. Save It For a Rainy Day
9. Broken Harpoon
10. Caught With a Smile on My Face
11. Queen of the World (Kraig = el gtr)
12. Think About It (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy)
13. Eyes of Sarajane
14. Red's Song
15. Waiting For the Sun (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
16. Poor Little Fish (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
17. All the Right Reasons
18. Expecting to Fly (somewhere in here)
19. Tampa to Tulsa
20. Bottomless Cup (Jessy)
21. Smile (Kraig = el gtr / choir)
22. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Kraig = ac gtr / choir)
23. I'd Run Away (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
24. Blue (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)

ENCORE 1
25. Settled Down Like Rain [banjo version]
26. The Baltimore Sun
27. Sound of Lies (Jessy)
28. Nevada, CA
29. Tailspin (Kraig = ac gtr)
30. Sister Cry

ENCORE 2
31. Ode to Billy Joe (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy / Gary = bass / Marc = ac gtr / Karen = lead vox)
32. I Am the Cosmos (Jim Boquist = lead gtr & bg vox)
33. Fools on Parade


One more night...

Review: Jayhawks - 12/19/03 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

Jesus, Mary & Joseph, that was one hell of a "holiday special" show! And "special" doesn't begin to cover it all. The scary thing is that they may very well get better in the coming nights since a big production like this tends to improve with age, just like a good red wine.

I didn't take any notes, prefrerring to "enjoy the moment" as much as possible. Here's a rough transcript of the "official" setlist I grabbed after the show. Pretty sure this is accurate, although i'm still pretty foggy this AM.

Highlights were numerous. I especially enjoyed hearing all of the "Sound of Lies" material done so nicely. And the Charlie Rich cover ("Life's Little Ups and Downs") made a very welcome return to the setlist -- one of Tim's best ever vocals IMO. And Marc's turn at center stage doing a reading from the Basement Tapes. And seeing Karen playing and singing and smiling just like she never left. And...OK, i'll shut up now.

Jayhawks - 12/19/03 - First Ave.

"Guests" noted where applicable. Karen played piano / keyboards & sang BG vox on virtually every song IIRC.

1. Stumbling Through the Dark
2. Angelyne
3. What Led Me to This Town (Kraig = electric gtr)
4. Take Me With You When You Go (Kraig = acoustic gtr)
5. Real Light (Kraig = el gtr)
6. NLTB (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy)
7. The Man Who Loved Life (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy)
8. Save It For a Rainy Day
9. Tampa to Tulsa
10. Jennifer Save Me (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy)
11. It's Up To You (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
12. Waiting For the Sun (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
13. Stick in the Mud (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
14. Queen of the World (Kraig = el gtr)
15. Smile (Kraig = el gtr / choir)
16. Lights
17. Will I See You In Heaven
18. Break in the Clouds (Kraig = el gtr)
19. Life's Little Ups and Downs (Kraig = el gtr)
20. I'd Run Away (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
21. Blue (Kraig = ac gtr / Jessy)
22. Nevada, California
23. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Kraig = ac gtr / choir)

ENCORE 1
24. Settled Down Like Rain
25. The Baltimore Sun
26. Red's Song
27. Think About It (Kraig = el gtr / Jessy)
28. Tailspin (Kraig = ac gtr)
29. Sister Cry

ENCORE 2
30. Ode To Billy Joe (Karen = lead vox / Kraig = el gtr / Jessy / Gary = bass / Marc = ac gtr)
31. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Marc = lead vox, ac gtr / Gary = bass)
32. Fools on Parade [aborted]
33. Until You Came Along (Kraig = el gtr / Jim Boquist = ac gtr, bg vox)

Over 2.5 hours! Yikes, no wonder i'm so trashed today!

See y'all tonight!