Bloggerhythms

Until last night I've never been to the Colonial Theater in the very hip town of Phoenixville, PA. It's a historic movie house that dates back to 1902. Today, it still shows films - it's home to the locally famous  Blobfest - and it's also an occasional concert venue where I saw The Jayhawks for the third time. Unlike a lot of older sites, the Colonial has comfortable seats and clean, modern restrooms, so if you visit there you're off to a good start. The concert hall walls are peeling and could use some paint, but that's a minor quibble completely offset by those two more important positives. You also have a good view from everywhere. We were in the second row of the balcony, close enough to take a good photo like the one above, but not close enough to destroy your hearing. The current Jayhawks are lead singer, electric and acoustic guitarist and co-founder, Gary Louris and original member Marc Perlman on bass. They...

The veteran Americana rock band, The Jayhawks , had been whittled down to a trio by the time they took on an all-acoustic tour that made its way to their hometown of Minneapolis where they played live at The Woman's Club on April 26, 2002. The performance was recorded and released on two CDs, both with a few studio demos and outtakes added as a bonus. It's the only acoustic tour the band has ever done. Gary Louris stars on vocals and acoustic guitar; Marc Perlman plays bass, mandolin and guitar; and drummer Tim O'Reagan also plays guitar and sings. The band played twenty-eight songs during the evening that included much of their standard repertoire: "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," "Save It for a Rainy Day," "Blue," "Waiting for the Sun," "I'd Run Away," and a few other gems. The sound of the show is very good and the crowd noise is minimal, so the songs are front and ...

Bloggerhythms' top five CDs for 2011 are more mainstream than in previous years. Two of them are by long time veterans (Shelby Lynne and The Jayhawks) and the other three are releases by relative newcomers and Adele has already reached superstardom. In a year when recent online news stories wrote about the probable death of the CD all of the albums on this list should be purchased in their entirety, not just track by track on iTunes. Overall it was a very good year for recorded music. 1. Dawes – Nothing is Wrong With only their second release these SoCal boys hit paydirt in a big way. Twenty-five year old songwriter Taylor Goldsmith offers a rare combination of pleasing vocals reminiscent of Jackson Browne, melodic songwriting with deep hooks ("Time Spent in Los Angeles"), and intelligent, moving lyrics ("A Little Bit of Everything"). If you're a fan of Hall of Famer Browne this CD is for you. It's the comeback album he never made. The 70s sta...

As good as Gary Louris is The Jayhawks were never quite the same band without his partner and co-founder Mark Olson so it's good to see the latter back in the lineup after a long absence of more than a decade. The duo recently revived the highly regarded quintet who rocked out in front of a packed audience last Saturday night at the old Keswick Theater, a locally famous, art deco, former movie venue in the suburban Philadelphia village of Glenside. The lineup for the evening consisted of the best supporting cast Louris and Olson ever assembled during the band's long history. In addition to Louris on electric guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals and Olson on acoustic and lead vocals the band included original members Marc Perlman on bass and long-time songwriting member Tim O'Reagan on drums. He and Karen Grotberg, their keyboard player during their glory years, also helped out with the singing. The set started off a bit unpolished and the sound mix wasn't what it sh...

The Salvation Blues is Mark Olson's first true solo CD. Olson was the leader of The Jayhawks until he left them in the good hands of co-founder Gary Louris in 1995. One of the reasons he cited for leaving the band was to be with his wife, singer-songwriter Victoria Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Then, leading a loosely organized group called The Creekdippers, he and Williams made several CDs together. Unfortunately Olson and Williams eventually divorced which sent him into a period of depression. He moved out of his home and began a period of aimless world traveling. He lived with his aunt in Colorado, then with friends in Wales. From there it was on to Krakow, Poland, then back to his original home town in Minneapolis, and finally back again with his aunt. The Salvation Blues was written during Olson's travels. It's a cathartic collection of songs he felt compelled to write. His state of mind is evident all over the disc. "Keith" is about ...

This country-rock/roots rock band has changed its sound since Mark Olson left the band a few years ago. I know I am in the minority of Jayhawks fans when I say this change is for the better. The band sports a cleaner, more produced sound than their previous albums offered, and the new lead singer, Olson’s co-founder Gary Louris, has a more pleasing voice than his predecessor. The band now leans toward a slick British Invasion style sound, adding a few modern rock touches along the way. The rockers rock harder, the ballads are sweeter, and are reminiscent of the three-part harmonies used by the World’s foremost British Invasion band, The Beatles. Their old fans may consider this a more commercial venture, and that assertion is justified, but a more commercial sound wears well on this group. A few of the earlier influences remain but they take a back seat to Louris’s new sound. The highlight is “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” a song you will surely know if you are a faithful listener to...