Christmas comes early for Jayhawks fans: Tim O’Reagan & Karen Grotberg live at the 318 Club – 12/12/09

Former Jayhawks, including Marc Perlman, warm up a tiny music cafe a stones throw from the frozen shores of Lake Minnetonka

 

 

Jayhawks drummer/singer/songwriter Tim O’Reagan has a knack for playing gigs “off the radar” – his most recent local appearances have been (twice) at a coffeehouse on the Crow River in Delano (an hour west of the Twin Cities) and two wonderful sets with his band at the 2008 Minnesota State Fair. Former Jayhawks keyboardist Karen Grotberg has been mostly missing from action during the last decade after she left the music biz to tend to the home fires (she joined the “classic” lineup of The Jayhawks for 4 reunion shows over the last two summers in Spain and Minnesota). So it wasn’t too surprising to see that Tim and Karen had booked a gig at an uber-cool “music cafe” in the Lake Minnetonka community of Excelsior, well outside the normal circuit of local music venues (although the 318 has been making great strides as a music venue over the last few years).

After 90 minutes of almost pure joy from Tim & Karen and friends (including founding Jayhawk member Marc Perlman and Soul Asylum’s Danny Murphy), I don’t think anyone in the audience was thinking about the long drive or unfamiliar surroundings. As it turned out, this was an extraordinarily fun and rewarding evening of music and good vibes in lovely downtown Excelsior, Minnesota, about a half hour west of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from a rapidly freezing Lake Minnetonka. The 318 holds maybe 60 people and, thanks to just a few notices on the Jayhawks Fanpage and Facebook, the reservations for this tiny cafe were gone in a flash. Through a stroke good luck i was able to secure a precious table seat with a couple of old, dear friends who arrived at the exact same time as i did and had an extra spot.

Predictably, this quintessentially cozy little place (a converted lumber warehouse) was jammed, but the wonderful staff managed to find spots for everybody. I can't say enough good things about how cool everybody was at the 318. They were friendly and accommodating in a way that's almost entirely missing from "Rock World." And the food was killer, too. Things got under way just a tad after 8 with a nice opening set from Frankie Lee, a local singer songwriter who played bass in the short-lived but awesome "Tim O'Reagan Band" (with Jim Boquist and Peter Anderson), which was assembled to support Tim's 2006 solo album and made their debut at South by Southwest in March 2006. Frankie's set was nicely flavored with some Texas spice, not surprising since he spends a lot of time down in Austin. He did a great version of the immortal Doug Sahm's "Crossroads" and finished his set with a cool cover of Freddy Fender's "You'll Lose a Good Thing" featuring Tim and Frankie trading vocals.

The main set started out with Tim solo in a fairly laid back mode; he was soon joined by Frankie and Erik Koskinen, an abundantly talented guitarist, musician and producer who fronts his own band and also works with Molly Maher as one of her Disbelievers. Within a few songs, however, it became clear something special was brewing and that this was gonna be a very, very good night. The sound was exceptional and everybody on stage was in great spirits (the wine was a-flowin' freely!) and tip-top happy holiday form. After a nice sampling from Tim’s brilliant solo album + the always riveting “Tampa to Tulsa,” Karen hopped up on stage after receiving a very warm ovation. It's hard to overstate just how good it was to see her in action again and hear her lovely voice. She also was in a great mood; her smile warmed the room almost as much as the fireplace in the corner. Tim wasted no time in getting their former compadre Marc Perlman to plug in his bass and then it was off to the races. Perly ended up sitting in for a good chunk of the set, which resulted in this hilarious exchange:

Tim: so, we have a majority of the Jayhawks here
Karen: there are only a couple missing, really (audience titters) 
Audience member: don’t worry, you guys sound great!
Tim: we’re not worried
Crowd: laughter

Tim's quick wit and fine-tuned sense of humor just added to the good times. He's come a long, long way as a "front man" since those early solo gigs almost 4 years ago.

The setlist was pretty incredible - not only a bundle of joy for fans of Tim and The Jayhawks, but a music geek's wet dream as well. "For Me Again" (an early lost Gene Clark treasure, finally released on the Echoes reissue of the classic Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers album – a touchstone for anything remotely resembling "alt-country") was a tremendous surprise as was a picture perfect reading by Karen of Tammy's edgy "I Don't Wanna Play House" and Tim’s excavation of Richard Thompson's "Wall of Death" from the harrowing Shoot Out the Lights album. The highlight of the entire evening may very well have been a drop-dead gorgeous performance of The Velvet's "Femme Fatale" (what a setlist, huh?!), which was just breathtaking, with Tim and Marc doing a bang up job with the background vocals. After this stunner, i heard somebody behind me ask her table mates, "was that a Motown song?" <eek!>  Lou Reed would likely be very proud!

The best "Jayhawks moment" was probably the old b-side, "Last Cigarette," which caused a minor buzz in the audience amongst the diehards when they heard Tim call it out. Hearing Karen rip through this Harlan Howard gem – as well as a perfect version of her old spotlight song, “Ode to Billy Joe” – triggered a flood of happy memories associated with all those great live 'hawks shows back in the "golden age."

The Christmas miracles kept on coming when Mr. Dan Murphy was called to the stage. He wormed his way into the corner and plugged in his guitar and cranked up the tremolo on his amp. This ad hoc "supergroup" (Perlman, Grotberg, O’Reagan and Murphy - “PGOM?”) started off with more magic from the Jayhawks' "golden age" (“Reason to Believe”), nailed another killer obscure cover (“Sorrow,” also done by Golden Smog way back in the day) and ended the festivities with a song i absolutely can never hear too many times, The Faces' "Ooh La La," a perfect capper for this to-die-for set as the crowd bellowed merrily along with the chorus. Tim clearly wasn't planning on an encore, but was quickly cajoled back into action after a heartfelt ovation from the mostly awestruck crowd. He corralled Frankie who grabbed Danny’s guitar as they brought everybody back to earth with a quietly mesmerizing "Bottomless Cup."

Did I mention how great it was to hear Karen in action again? :)

 

TIM O’REAGAN / KAREN GROTBERG
12/12/09
318 Music Café – Excelsior, MN

1. These Things (a)
2. River Bends (b)
3. Black and Blue (b)
4. Happy Man (a)
5. April Come She Will [Simon & Garfunkel] (c)
6. Tampa to Tulsa (d)
7. Almost Saturday Night [John Fogerty] (e)
8. Star [Stealers Wheel] (e)
9. For Me Again [Gene Clark] (e)
10. Girl/World (e)
11. Wall of Death [Richard & Linda Thompson] (e)
12. Plaything (e)
13. I Don’t Wanna Play House [Tammy Wynette] (e)
14. Pray For Me (f)
15. Femme Fatale [Velvet Underground] (f)
16. (Lost My) Driving Wheel [David Wiffen/Roger McGuinn] (f)
17. Ode to Billy Joe [Bobby Gentry] (f)
18. I’m Down to My Last Cigarette [Harlan Howard/kd Lang] (f)
19. Reason to Believe [Tim Hardin/Rod Stewart] (g)
20. Sorrow [McCoys/The Merseys/David Bowie] (g)
21. Ooh La La [The Faces] (g)
encore
22. Bottomless Cup (h)

Tim O’Reagan = ac gtr, lead & bg vox
Karen Grotberg = piano, lead (13,15,17,18) & bg vox

a = Tim solo
b = Tim + Frankie Lee (ac gtr, vox) & Erik Koskinen (elec gtr)
c = Tim + Marc Perlman (bass)
d = Tim + Marc Perlman (bass) + Frankie Lee (harp, vox)
e = Tim + Karen
f = Tim + Karen + Marc Perlman (bass, vox)
g = Tim + Karen + Marc Perlman (bass, vox) + Danny Murphy (elec gtr, vox)
h = Tim + Frankie Lee (elec gtr, vox)

"Tim, Jim & Marc" @ The Cabooze - 2/7/08

Sometimes great sets can just pop up and smack you up side the head when you’re least expecting them








(no camera this time; photos from various previous gigs)
(Tim photo courtesy of kiki @ http://www.2bhifi.com/kiki/)

Back in the early 90s, Tim O’Reagan and Jim Boquist played a handful of shows in and around the Twin Cities as a quasi-folk duo. They were usually billed under a variety of less-than-imaginative names (“O’Reagan Boquist Band,” “Tim & Jim,” etc) and frequently appeared in out of the way venues (the Loring Bar??) with little notice or appeared as an unannounced support act at First Ave / 7th St Entry.

Well, Tim & Jim, along with Marc Perlman, were in fact on the bill last Thursday at a benefit at the Cabooze in Mpls for something called "Peace & War In The Heartland,” a poorly attended, low-key benefit for some organization i’d never heard of before. At one point in the midst of what turned out to be an absolutely delightful 10 song set, the fellas continued some fairly entertaining between song banter by entering into a discussion on what they should call themselves – “The Curmudgeons?”… “how ‘bout the Old Curmudgeons?”… “we’re kinda old.” For now, I’ll just call them “TJM.” Also appearing on the bill were two bands i was utterly unfamiliar with and Strange Lights, the young, always interesting gang of space rockers who have been turning in some awfully interesting sets of late. As it turned out, TJM went on first, just about an hour after the doors opened at 7pm and after a perfunctory rally speech by an old Vietnam Vet who was living through the second great international tragedy in his lifetime that involves US armed forces. Strange Lights trippy jams were relegated to the end; the whole thing was over by 11 – a very reasonable finish time for a week night.

The crowd was mostly young and many appeared to be attached somehow to the two middle bands who i still know next to nothing about, even though i dutifully sat through both of their sets. There were a handful of people who seemed to be familiar with TJM, but i can honestly say that i barely recognized about 3 people there out of crowd that might have hit 100 at some point. I knew twice as many of the musicians as i did attendees.

I really didn’t have much of a clue as to what was gonna go down. I had a hunch that there would be plenty of Tim stuff, especially since his name had been on the bill the longest and, indeed, was the sole name listed on the marquee outside (not even the benefit org was shown!). That turned out to be the case, but boy oh boy, there were plenty of great offerings from Jim and Marc, too. After a few songs, i realized i was in the process of witnessing a great set, and i immediately rued the knowledge that the proceedings were going to be undocumented – at least in audio and visual terms. I’ve been so out of the habit of going to shows lately that i even stupidly forgot my digital camera – one of the more bone-headed things i’ve done in recent weeks. So, i sat there like a smiling low-tech fool, absorbing what turned out to be one of the best sets of local music i’ve seen in a long, long time.

The line-up was simplicity itself: Marc on electric bass, Tim on acoustic 6 string and harp, and Jim on electric 6 string. They all were sitting down, just like back in the old folky days. Lead vocals were rotated through the set and Tim and Jim (and sometimes Marc) contributed harmonies. Not surprisingly, these 3 old pals acquitted themselves flawlessly. Tim and Jim’s harmonies were superb throughout and Jim’s always sterling guitar work was especially memorable as he coaxed one beautiful lead after another out of his old hollow-body Gibson. After a few minutes, i was transported back in time to the old Tim and Jim magic from those days when Tim wasn’t quite a Jayhawk yet and Jim was in between memorable gigs with Joe Henry and Son Volt. Only this was even better thanks to Perlman’s contributions. According to Tim, this was, shockingly, the first time this particular line-up had appeared in public, amazing when you consider how much time these guys have spent together as their paths have repeatedly criss-crossed over the last 17 years. For trainspotters, it should be noted that this was, i believe, the first time Marc and Tim have shared a stage since a Jayhawks reunion at the First Ave. 30th Anniversary bash back in December 2005. After the show, Tim said, “it sure felt good to play with Marc again,” something quite obvious to anyone in attendance who was paying attention.

It was especially thrilling to hear a couple of familiar classic Jayhawks songs with not so familiar harmonies. On “Pray For Me,” Tim took the Mark part while Jimmy channeled Gary to a scary degree – singing the high notes and turning in a frighteningly good Byrdsian guitar line; it all resulted in an exquisite experience. Bone chilling stuff. Before “Pray For Me,” Tim said “we’re gonna do some more covers... here’s an old Jayhawks song,” a statement sure to be dissected in some of the more obsessive corners of the interwebs. The harmonies on “Tampa to Tulsa” were certainly more familiar, as Tim and Jim have honed this song to near perfection in the post-RDM years, but this certainly was an interesting pair of “covers” for Jayhawks fans, providing compelling evidence that the Jayhawks legacy lives on even though the pieces of the puzzle get shifted around now and then.

Special mention should also be made of Boquist’s “Why,” a song once known to fans as “Muddy Shoulder.” During the recent Tim O’Reagan Band era, this song has flowered into a stunning thing of beauty. It’s got that classic timeworn feel that evokes nothing less than a lost Gene Clark masterpiece – just about the highest praise you could give someone, especially an old soul like Jim who clearly has an almost eerie spiritual connection to that special period of musical history. Speaking of which, the second song of the evening was another highlight of recent Tim O’Reagan live sets, the Gene Clark/Bernie Leadon classic, “Train Leaves Here This Morning,” a song popularized by the Eagles on their first album, but originally released in 1968 on The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark, one of the most influential albums from that era, and a wellspring of inspiration (and cover songs) for a whole generation of “alt-country” / “Americana” artists in later years, including TJM, Gary Louris and just about every other musician with a modicum of taste who’s picked up a guitar over the last 3 decades.

There were some predictable familiar moments from recent O’Reagan shows, including “Pictures of Dad” and the always moving reading of Simon and Garfunkel’s “April Come Say You Will.” Perlman also tackled an old fave of his, The Only Ones’ “From Here to Eternity,” a rare treat that almost always shows up only at small-scale intimate gigs like the Mad Ripple Hootenanny.

The last two songs had a special glow that capped off the all too short but superb set. A rousing cover of the Velvet’s “What Goes On,” sung by Perlman and complete with some enthused acoustic guitar jam work at the end, fired up the appreciative but polite crowd. This was always a highlight on the occasions when Kraig Johnson and the Program (sometimes featuring Perlman) burned through it a few years back when they were one of the hottest live acts in town and it was a joy to hear this inspired reading as well. Finally, and an obvious choice for this event – if not this era – was Nick Lowe’s “What’s So Funny (‘bout Peace Love and Understanding)?” Perlman and his Golden Smog bandmates almost got to encore with this song 5 days earlier at a historic rally for Barack Obama in Minneapolis, but fell victim to time constraints. This time the peaceniks got a straight shot of this 35 year old anthem of hope, featuring vocals from everyone on stage. Right on!

Sometimes great sets can just pop up and smack you up side the head when you’re least expecting them which, of course, is one of the main things that drives live music heads to continually troll the waters out in Clubland for the next big strike. This was certainly the case at this strange gig. I felt like i was in a different town and, at times, a different decade. Hopefully, we’ll get to see a reprise of this old new magic very soon.


Tim O’Reagan / Jim Boquist / Marc Perlman
“Peace and Love in the Heartland” benefit
February 7, 2008
The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN


River Bends
Train Leaves Here This Morning
Pray For Me
Tampa to Tulsa
From Here to Eternity
Why
Pictures of Dad
April Come Say You Will
What Goes On
What’s So Funny (‘bout Peace, Love and Understanding)?

Tim O’Reagan – acoustic guitar, harp, lead and background vocals
Jim Boquist – electric guitar, lead and background vocals
Marc Perlman – electric bass, lead and background vocals

No Pictures of Dad...anybody remember the "Smart Pills"?

(courtesty of Chrome Waves)

If you've seen the wonderful Tim O'Reagan live experience over the last year or so -- either the 4 piece band or the "Tim and Jim" duo thing -- you've likely heard a fetching song, often introduced as an "oldie," called "No Pictures of Dad." When Tim + band played the 400 bar in Mpls last December, "Dad" popped up during a memorable "mini-set" of songs associated with the Leatherwoods, an extremely cool band from Kansas and later Mpls who put out one brilliant long-player on Medium Cool in 1992 -- Topeka Oratorio, a stone classic "lost album" if there ever was one -- and a coupla singles before that.

Anywho, erstwhile web digger Caffeine Zombie recently unearthed a myspace page that features a live version of "No Pictures of Dad" by a mostly forgotten late 70s pop-punk band called Smart Pills. The song was written by Will Ivy ,who's used a number of pseudonyms over the years, including "Alan Oliver," a name that pops up a few times on Topeka Oratorio, most memorably on the song "Tinsel Town," which Tim has also been performing over the last year. And to complete this ridiculously obscure visit to ancient history -- "No Pictures of Dad" was covered by Josie Cotton (you likely remember her and her music no matter how much you want to forget it) in the early 80s and her version was even featured on the Square Pegs TV show... a lost classic in it's own right, featuring the considerable talents of writer Anne Beatts and a young Sarah Jessica Parker and Jami Gertz.

Twin/Tone / Medium Cool

Trouser Press

Review: Tim O'Reagan - 400 Bar - 12/2/06

Somebody asked me over the wire this morning, "how was the show?"

Well, in a word, fan-f***ing-tastic! (is that one word or three?)

I'm just heading out the door, so I'm in "quick review" mode. This was
easily one of the best shows I've seen all year. And I see a lot of
shows. :-) The Cliff notes version: packed house and over 2 hours of
great music, with a "vibe" that was simply wonderful – there was
enough love and happiness in the air to warm the heart of even the
biggest holiday scrooge on a cold-ass night.

No setlist now, but we got most of the album, a Boquist song or two,
some smashing covers, a few new ones (?), a coupla Jayhawks moments
and some "surprises," too. The biggest shocker was an honest-to-god
Leatherwoods mini-set. (Historical sidebar: The Leatherwoods were
Tim's band from roughly 87-92, during the period when he moved from
Kansas to Minny. They put out a couple of singles and one fantastic
long-player, "Topeka Oratorio," on Peter Jesperson's long gone Medium
Cool imprint. This album is a bona fide "Lost Classic" and deserves to
be heard far and wide; it really is an amazing collection of top shelf
modern pop. The "band" was essentially Tim and his partner Todd
Newman, although they received assistance from the mysterious "Pablo
Louseorama," who supposedly was in some band called The Replacements
or something. Everyone who hasn't heard TO should immediately go to
Ebay or Gemm and track down a copy. End of history lesson). Tim's
former partner Todd had to cancel at the last minute, but he was
certainly there in spirit. The "cover" of The Leatherwoods' "Tinsel
Town" (also shockingly resurrected 1 or 2 times back on the Jayhawks
2002 "acoustic trio" tour) offered up last night was so good it was
almost heart attack-inducing. And that was only the beginning of the
ride in the way-back machine. After 3 more old classics, us old farts
back by the merch table were grinning like friggin' idiots.

Thankfully, there were no "guest star" distractions on what was very
much Tim's night, a much deserved moment in the spotlight for him,
even though he was about 6 months overdue for a proper record release
bash. Pete Sands from The Honeydogs contributed some very nice
keyboard & accordion work, including the full keyboard intro (missing
since '97? I'll have to hit the archives to answer that) on a chilling
reading of "Bottomless Cup" in the encore. Gary and Kraig were both
out of town, but Perly finally showed up near the end to rock out on a
coupla songs, a superb cover of John Cale's "Big White Cloud" and
perhaps the finest version of "Lost My Driving Wheel" ever played
anywhere by anyone. And for the locals, it was undoubtedly shocking to
see local legend Curtiss A – aka the "Dean of Scream" – pop up out of
the audience at the end to blast through a ragged but right version of
the 60s garage classic, "I Can Only Give You Anything," channeling Van
Morrison's Them, The Troggs and the MC5 in the process.

The boys, and Tim in particular, have really blossomed as a live act
over the last 9 months. Whereas Tim was once tentative and reserved –
if not downright scared shitless at times – he's now far more
confident and relaxed: playing like a champ, cracking jokes and just
generally having a grand old time. This newfound élan was never more
in evidence than on the final encore (yes, the crowd was rightfully
going nuts at the end of the night), a hilariously authentic version
of KC and the Sunshine Band's "Keep it Coming Love." Tim and Jim
huddled at the start and then shouted instructions to drummer Pete
Anderson and bassist Frankie "The Face" Lee. Pete – the consummate pro
who admitted later that he had no idea what was coming – launched into
a funky 4/4 stomp and we were off to the dance floor, the heretofore
unknown disco side of Mr. Tim O'Reagan now on full display for the
entire world to see. What coulda been a train wreck, turned out to be
not only an eminently enjoyable moment – yes, that was my wife near
the sound board doing the Hustle – but also served as a visceral
display of just how good this band is. Jim was especially smokin', his
ripping guitar riffs creating pure rock magic out of the scrap heaps
of music history.

Another special moment, not to mention a sign of pure courage on Tim's
part: taking a stab at a live version of "Ivy." You might think that
this haunting, eerie song – easily one of the most striking
performances on the new album – wouldn't translate well to the stage,
and you'd probably be right. But Tim pulled it off in spades, tackling
the difficult vocal parts with aplomb and displaying yet again what a
magnificent, underrated singer he is.

This was one of those shows that simply made you feel glad to be
alive. What an extraordinary early Christmas present from Tim and
crew. I could get all philosophical and say that attending shows like
this is an experience that is a bedrock component of every Music
Junkie/Head/Fan, and that to be in the presence of other like-minded
souls is pure joy and blah blah blah. But how 'bout: this was an
amazingly fine show on every level and a great sign of things to come.
End of story.

Review: Tim O'Reagan - 3/9/06 - Acadia Cafe - Minneapolis, MN

Tim's set Thursday in Mpls was excellent. It was a really, really fun nite all-around.

He played as part of an ongoing Thursday nite series at The Acadia Cafe/Theater (Franklin & Nicollet) sponsored by DEMO, a non-profit org designed to, among other things, promote "emerging artists." DEMO rose out of the ashes of DAMF and features a brain trust led by First Ave. guru Steve McLellan. The Acadia, it turns out, works very well for this series. Most of the performances in this series are solo acoustic kinda things, a format perfectly accommodated by the intimate setting. There's a cute little theater (capacity = 100) right next to a cafe that offers food, coffee and lots of beer. They even have Shiner Bock -- since i'm heading to Austin in a few days, i felt it appropriate to drink a bunch of that to acclimate my system to Texas water. The vibe was kind of a cross between a coffee shop, bar and theater. You could catch some music in a quiet, sit-down setting and then head next door for some schmoozing and refreshments. BTW, I eventually discovered that combining caffeine and alcohol (aka a "poor man's speedball") can be a dangerous thing. The next morning, I mentally recast one of Kris Kristofferson's most famous songs as I reeled from a really bad case of the "Friday Morning Coming Down" blues.

Tim had played a few low-profile sets with Jim Boquist over the last few months but this was his first appearance with a full band. In many ways, this was his "proper" local debut as a solo artist. Tim's band featured Frankie Lee (an up-and-coming local singer/songwriter) on bass, drummer extraordinaire Peter Anderson (aka the hardest working musician in town) and the Rev. Boquist on various acoustic & electric 6 & 12 string guitars. Tim switched between 2 acoustics: a beautiful old black Martin and a shiny 12-string. Jim & Frankie frequently sang harmonies -- their sterling work really helped the tunes from Tim's new album come alive on stage. The lil' theater was packed to the rafters with a crowd chock full of friends, scenesters (including Postcard celebrities Rob & Karla) and an impressive host of local musicians including Gary Louris, Marc Perlman and Kraig Johnson.

A little background: Tim and Jim used to play occasionally around Mpls as a pseudo-"folk combo" back in the early '90s, in the period after the demise of The Leatherwoods (Tim's old band with Todd Newman) and before Tim hooked up with The Jayhawks and Jim joined Joe Henry's touring band. Their shows always seemed to pop up at the last minute; i remember seeing them a few times at First Ave. / Entry, as well as several appearances at the old Loring Bar. They were usually booked with some unwieldy name like "The O'Reagan/Boquist Band," or something like that. Actually, "Tim and Jim" has a nice ring to it. They played some originals and, predictably, a whole bunch of really cool covers, including "Walking in the Sun," a Jeff Barry tune that many people first heard on the huge Rufus album "Rags to Riches" in the early 70s. I was greatly surprised when the Jayhawks performed a couple of superb versions of "Walking in the Sun" a decade later in the middle of the 2002/3 "acoustic trio" tour. BTW, early during that same tour, a nice version of an old Leatherwoods song that Tim used to sing ("Tinsel Town") was uncorked, much to the amazement of the few people familiar with that song.

On Thursday, Tim & the boys played a compact 45 minute set that featured several songs from the new album (highlights included "These Things," "River Bends," "Highway Flowers" ), a few obscure covers (songs by Stealers Wheel and the Everly Bros.) and a particularly interesting song in the middle of the set that turned out to be a resurrected original from the aforementioned "Tim and Jim" days. The only nod to Tim's most recent former band was a mesmerizing reading of "Tampa to Tulsa" – a bit sadder and slower than the original but still breathtakingly beautiful. The band sounded awfully good for a "debut" performance – they were reasonably tight and, to nobody's surprise, Tim sang like an angel. Jim's gtr work was pretty much riveting throughout the whole set -- he was doing his best Steve Cropper / soul-man licks and had a number of great solos. Most people outside MN – i.e. those who only know Jim from his years playing bass for Son Volt – have no idea that Dave isn't the only Boquist who plays a mean axe.

Tim was palpably quite nervous early on; this recent transition to the other side of the drum kit has to be quite a jolt for him. In fact, the entire live component of Tim's new solo career will likely be something of a work in progress. There was absolutely no banter for some time until he finally blurted out between songs while tuning his guitar, "I dunno about this bandleader stuff..." After some awkward silence, Jim played along, "what don't ya know…?" Tim then looked up towards the audience and asked, "Gary, how did you do this? Were you shaking all the time?" After a few more seconds of silence, Tim muttered "he probably left." Jim quickly retorted, "No, I can still see his glasses out there," a reference to Gary's penchant for distinctive designer eyewear. The crowd had a good laugh as a big chunk of tension evaporated. It was a cute, charming little moment. After the show, I thought how lucky Tim is to have seasoned vets like Jim and Peter behind him – talk about heading into the breach with a good back-up team.

All in all, a memorable night on many levels, as well as a useful tune-up for the chaos next week in Texas. I know one thing I'll be doing for sure on Friday night…