The Jayhawks return to First Avenue

I’m always praising the local metal scene here in the Twin Cities. I truly believe it’s the best in the country. The same can be said with the local rap/ hip-hop scene. I mean, come on, the Twin Cities is the home to Rhymesayers and Doomtree. Sadly, I often forget that there are other local scenes out there since I have become so enamored with the metal and rap/ hip-hop scenes but last night was a great reminder that the Twin Cities has so much more to offer.

The show started out with Two Harbors from Minneapolis. These guys are Minnesota’s own brand of Oasis. Their sound matches that of many of the acts that brought the Brit/ indie-pop sound to the radio waves throughout the 90’s. The second they started playing, I was instantly transported back to the late 90’s when I first started getting into music. Singer Chris Pavlich had a voice that could easily be mistaken for a voice of one of the brothers of Oasis but there was something about their overall sound that set them apart. You could hear the heavy influence of the British Pop explosion in their songs that were pulled along by driving guitars and the solid kick of the bass drum. The mixture of that British Pop explosion sound with current indie rock lords made something truly memorable and fun.

Pavlich had this very calm demeanor about him as they played through their nearly forty minute set. Chris never really addressed the crowd and left the talking to guitarist Kris Johnson but very few words were said. That didn’t seem to phase the sold out crowd. It was obvious that people were enjoying their set as they clapped and whistled between songs. 

Set List: There Is Love / Fall To Pieces / Be Forever / You Might Be Right / Be On Your Way / Come Around / You Pulled The Rug Out / Blue Door / Momentum / See You Down The Road / Just Carry On

Usually when I go to shows like this, where I really have no attachment to the band, and end up losing a bit of my interest, I start to listen to what’s going on around me. There are typically conversations, drunken fights, and, of course, the awkward first date. There was none of that last night. For a sold out show, the crowd was suspiciously silent. There was no chatter going on around me and, from what I could tell when I started wandering around, there was really no chatter anywhere. People had their eyes on that stage and the only noises I was hearing from the crowd were either people singing along or people clapping and cheering.

There’s no denying just how big The Jayhawks are. They are definitely legendary to say the least. Being able to see them play on their home turf and watching the way the devoted crowd reacted to seeing them live was more than enough for me to say that last night was a great show. When you add The Jayhawks’ iconic sounds to the amazing crowd, you are left with a truly memorable night of music.

The sound of The Jayhawks blends the lines of country and indie-pop and leave you with a truly unique sound. It’s hard to classify these guys because, depending on what song they’re playing, they could be classified as pretty much anything. The way they would seamlessly switch from an upbeat song to a slower jam was truly amazing. Standing in the crowd, you could feel the mood in the venue completely switch just like the music. It was truly an experience and just goes to show how powerful this band is. Their 29 song set reflected how sizable their catalogue is from old fans to new ones that just discovered them there was something for everyone.

The Twin Cities is the best place for music regardless of what genre. It’s hard to keep up with it. A huge thank you to Two Harbors and The Jayhawks for reminding me that there’s so much more amazing local music here in the Twin Cities beyond the metal and rap/ hip-hop scenes.

Set List: Waiting for the sun / Leaving the monsters / Trouble / Stumbling / Tampa to Tulsa / Two Hearts / Devil in in her eyes / Big Star / Lovers of the sun / NLTB / Comeback kids / Bottomless Cup / Blue / Think about it / Reasons / Quiet Corners / Rainy Day / Pretty Roses / Smile / I’m gonna make you / I’d run away / Settled / Angelyne / I’ll be your key / Haywire / Tailspin / ?  Encore: TTGG / Unitl you came along