When it was announced that Marc Perlman's new folk/pop project Janey & Marc would be opening up for a Mark Olson show at the 400 Bar in Mpls, there was a reasonably good chance that all 3 of the founding members of The Jayhawks would be in the same room at the same time since Gary Louris has been a frequent guest at recent local Olson appearances.
That was indeed the case on an exceedingly cold-ass night in Mpls; predictably, some hard-core Jayhawks fans in attendance were positively atwitter at the site of this powerful confluence. Even though Louris sat in for the encores at the end of Olson's set, that was it in the way of "reunions." Not that anyone should've been complaining, though. Even without Louris' exciting contributions, Olson's acoustic trio was in fine form and Janey & Marc were simply superb, turning in one of their best ever sets over 15 months of sporadic appearances.
J&M have appeared in several different configurations for the handful of shows they've played so far: just the two of them kickin' it old-school folk style; the "Kingfield Trio," adding Ed Ackerson on bass; a full-blown big band thang with drums, keyboards and John Eller on guitar and harmonies; and, for this acoustic show, a new trio lineup with J&M and Eller.
Janey, Marc and John did their best to warm the room up with their near flawless performances. Janey was at her mesmerizing best and Perly even brought out his A-game in the dry wit and humor department. All of the usual J&M jewels were offered ("Goodbye Kiss," "Back to You," "Love Me Once Again"), joined by a stripped down yet powerful version of their just hatched epic, "With You." "Beautiful Day" -- which first saw life during the sessions for the last Golden Smog album -- was another highlight; this song gets better with each passing performance. A spirited rendition of The Velvets' "What Goes On" (played just a few days earlier at another gig involving Perlman) made a welcome appearance near the end, as did "The Dark End of the Street," an achingly beautiful tale of dark love that was done definitively by James Carr 40 years ago and resonates perfectly with Perlman's often melancholy musings on pain and loss.
At the dark end of the street
that is where we always meet
hiding in shadows where we don't belong
living in darkness, to hide alone
There were also a couple of new additions to the J&M repertoire. Marc sang a very cool version of Fred Neil's "Dolphins" -- first popularized by Tim Buckley and covered by everybody from Linda Rondstadt to The Trash Can Sinatras -- a song that is almost eerily appropriate in this season of war and politics.
This old world may never change
The way it's been
And all the ways of war
Can't change it back again
I'm not the one to tell this world
How to get along
I only know the peace will come
When all hate is gone
Then there was the biggest shocker of the whole night, especially for astute Jayhawks fans -- "I Hear You Cry," a way obscure (bonus track on a 1997 European CD) Perlman penned and sung song from the Sound of Lies era. There's nothing in the entire Jayhawks catalog that quite sounds like this moody little ditty and, needless to say, there aren't a whole lot of people who are even aware of its existence. To say it was something of a surprise to hear this played live is a major understatement. For what it's worth, I thought it sounded wonderful, providing a road map that leads straight to some of Perlman's recent compositions. There are only a couple of known live performances of this song by The Jayhawks (in Europe in 1997) although, interestingly, it made an equally shocking out-of-the-blue appearance during a Golden Smog set at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC during an August 2004 benefit concert.
Hello my little China doll
Did I do something wrong?
Should I ask you for forgiveness
Or should I just leave you alone
We need some quiet conversation
We can tell each other lies
Maybe we could light a fire
If we tend it itll work out right
(chorus)
Don't you know how I hear you cry
But everythings all right
Dont you know how I feel inside
But everythings all right
There was a time I thought we'd make it
I didnt mean to bring you down
But I dream about you always
Just tell me I should let it go now
The set ended with a typically lovely reading of Perlman's "Cure For This," perhaps the finest moment on Golden Smog's woefully misunderstood/underappreciated 2006 album, Another Fine Day. As they had throughout the set, the perfectly attentive crowd gave J&M&J a heartfelt ovation; this was probably the best response i've experienced yet at a J&M show.
With stellar performances later in the evening from Perlman's former bandmates this was indeed a great way for Jayhawks fans to spend a frigid Sunday night. In fact, the previous week had been something of a special treat for local Jayhawks fans with Golden Smog appearing at an historic Obama rally and an off-the-radar but excellent benefit gig by Tim O'Reagan, Jim Boquist and Perlman. Perly was the common link at all three of these events. Coincidence?
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