Gary Louris w/Vetiver @ The Mod Club

As much as I love seeing and exploring newer and younger acts throughout the city, every once in a while a guy has got to witness a true legend. Gary Louris is classic! Nothing compares to a show put on by someone who has the history and charisma of Gary, and this was certainly a very special night.

If you haven't heard it yet, his solo effort 'Vagabonds' is a flawless release that just gets better with every listen. I'll have to admit that, while I was looking forward to it, I wasn't expecting much. I figured that it was likely to be a very laid back, yet enjoyable listen. Truth is however, that it stands up alongside some of The Jayhawks best work. For this show, he featured many songs from this one, but he also played several from his vast back catalogue. What's great about seeing a seasoned professional like Louris is the fact that he no longer needs to prove himself. He's already done that several times over. So he is simply here to have a good time and give the audience what they want. That would include faves such as I'd Run Away, Save It For A Rainy Day, Angelyne, and of course, Blue. (BTW, that bridge towards the end of Blue still gets me every single time I hear it. And I've heard it a lot!) He opened the show with Omaha Nights, and he did some great versions of the songs from Vagabonds, my favorites being True Blue, the very Big Starsy I Wanna Get High and the title track, which is an instant classic in my not so humble opinion. Only building on the anticipation that I was already feeling was the fact that I saw The Sadies boys milling around throughout the audience that night. For the encore, Gary performed a few songs by himself before inviting The Sadies onstage with him to run through a powerhouse version of Tailspin and Dylan's You Ain't Goin' Nowhere.

Photos: My photos from the show are on flickr.
Myspace: Gary Louris

Opening the night was Vetiver, who were also Louris' backing band for the evening. Their songs were obviously inspired by their touring partner and sounded pretty good. They were a little bit predictable and formulaic, but they got better as the night went on. They had Eric Haywood join them on slide guitar towards the end of their set and he played throughout the night as well.

Photos: My photos from the show are on flickr.
Myspace: Vetiver