How Was The Show - Gary Louris at The Guthrie Theater

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Gary Louris at The Guthrie Theater on 8/25/08

Gary Louris - Photo by Darren Ankenman from myspace.com/garylouris

Gary Louris playing solo at the Guthrie, was definitely a different vibe than the raucous Jayhawks shows I’ve seen at places like First Avenue. The darkened room kept the people in their seats throughout the evening. I was surprised by Louris' sense of humor throughout the night, his often self-deprecating remarks were tossed off as asides between songs and received with knowing laughter. I guess I always imagined Louris as a serious, dour guy with not much room for joking on stage. Maybe it was the same with the Jayhawks, but I certainly don't remember it. It did make for a comfortable and entertaining show, and a great way to make almost two hours fly by.

Louris played songs spanning his array of projects, he started off the evening with "True Blue" from his recent solo album, Vagabonds, played a few songs that he'd written with the Dixie Chicks, played some songs from Golden Smog and, of course, there were plenty of Jayhawks songs. Louris joked at one point, "I have a lot of songs--not because I'm prolific, but because I'm old."

Joining Louris through the night was longtime Jayhawk bandmate, Marc Perlman, whom Louris referred to as "Perly" for most of the night. Looking out to the immaculate theater with its deep red fabric and intricately notched architecture, Louris joked to Perlman, "Perly, this place isn't a dump, huh?"

Also joining Louris were Kraig Johnson and Jim Boquist, the latter of whom sang the part of Mark Olson on "Blue." Which actually made me appreciate the job that Tim O'Reagan did for all those years, approximating Mark Olson's ying to Louris' yang.

Louris did play a couple new songs, which sounded typically great along with his solo tunes. He played a new song called "So Long Lonesome and Blue" that featured a complicated fingerpicked melody and classic folk song phrasing that was an absolute wonder. (I hope it lands on some album somewhere in the future.) Missing was the production that maybe muddied some of the songs on his solo record. The songs like "Vagabonds" and the aforementioned "True Blue" sounded completely different with just a guitar, harmonica and that sweet, honey voice that could only belong to Louris.

Louris mentioned a reunited Jayhawks (including Olson) that is happening in Spain later this year, which prompted a yell from the audience, "Do it here!"

"I know, I know," quickly responded Louris, who I think realized that was opening a can of worms and quickly launched into his next song. There is also supposed to be a Louris and Olson record called "Ready for the Flood," whose release was just delayed until next year--hopefully that will mean some local shows for the duo, even if it is not under the Jayhawks name.

The night ended with Louris, Perlman, Johnson and Boquist all performing the Golden Smog song, "Until You Came Along." It was a terrific closer, and while it was fun to see all of those guys up there, Louris didn't really need any help to put on a fantastic show. Maybe he is embracing this career as a solo artist, and hopefully we'll see more of it soon.

Location Info: The Guthrie Theater
Artist Info: Gary Louris

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