Jayhawks 2.0

It's good to see the Jayhawks, one of my favorite bands of the early to mid-'90s, playing together again. There's no indication in this review of some recent Minneapolis shows if a new Jayhawks album is in the works, but we know from the album that co-leaders Gary Louris and Mark Olson put out last year (one of my Top 10 of 2009) that the two seem disposed towards working together again. The recent arrival of the group's rare first album on CD has inspired an exploration of older songs. (Star-Tribune)

No doubt, the goal was to vary the First Ave performances from night to night. Also, last month's reissue of their little-heard 1986 debut ("The Bunkhouse Album") seemed to spur the band to dig deeper.

Thus, in place of familiar favorites such as "Waiting for the Sun," "Two Angels" and "Over My Shoulder" (all forsaken Sunday), the concert featured long-shelved tunes including "Ain't No End," "Will I Be Married," "King of Kings" and the opener "People in This Place on Every Side." Instead of the radio-polished single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" -- which itself would have been a surprise, since it came in the post-Olson era of the band -- Louris dusted off "Someone Will," an early version of that tune with a different chorus.