Ann and I braved the cold weather to hear the Jayhawks and their special brand of joyous harmonies. They were great, but the mezzanine seats at Town Hall were built in 1921 — when asses were half the size they are today!
I dig Mr. Jayhawk’s look. Timothy “Speed” Levitch meets Brian Sendrowitz. During the last song of the encore, they went off into wild jam band territory. Now, Gary Louris n’est pas Trey, but he did certainly try. I predict that the Jayhawks’ next CD will be filled with funky beats and long guitar solos — leaving many of their fans as baffled as they were last night.
The great Peter Olsen was there. And his lady, Amy. Amy said, loudly, “take it to the manufacturer!” Off camera was the great actor Anthony Leslie. He is just as handsome in real life.
Claudia Marshall was there, too. She TOTALLY does not look like this anymore. She’s got to update her website. As she walked past I stage-whispered to Ann, “I hear that woman’s voice in my head every morning!” She got a big kick out of it and introduced herself — and then said good-bye as she walked past, hours later.
Josh Rouse opened. Opening is tough. The place was about 35% full when he started playing. He was pretty good, I guess. A lot of his albums, which are F%^#ing brilliant, depend on studio gagetry and the intimacy of recording. I don’t think the P.A. system at Town Hall, or whatever opening act gear he had, was up to the task.
