REVIEW: The Jayhawks and Tommy Stinson Charm Bearsville Theater
10/25/2024 at The Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, NY
“[The Jayhawks] truly seem to have their sound down to a science because the way they harmonize together itches a part of the brain you’d think couldn’t be scratched.”
On Friday, October 25, The Jayhawks and Tommy Stinson took the stage at the cozy Bearsville Theater in Woodstock for an intimate evening of music in the rustic, reconstructed barn not too far down the Northway.
The woodsy smell of the quaint theater hit patrons as soon as they stepped past the threshold and into the warmly-lit lobby. Stepping even deeper into the venue, guests came across the stage and were greeted with the same cushy cottage vibes as candle lit chandeliers hang overhead, scattered throughout tall wooden beams and a wooden cutout of a bear over the stage. Truly, fans couldn’t have asked for a more Jayhawks-esque setting.
Attendees were eager for the country rockers to grace the stage – myself included, being that my first memory of my parents taking me out of school early to travel to a concert was for a Jayhawks show in fourth grade. The turnout for opener Tommy Stinson was solid and viewers were attentive as he started his stripped down, one-man set, just him and his acoustic guitar.
Stinson’s uniquely gruff and vulnerable sound filled the room. Even without knowing he got his start in the music business at the ripe age of 11 – joining The Replacements just a few years later at 13 – it was easy to tell that he’s been at this for a while. He even poked fun at himself after starting to play the wrong song, which he alluded to the fact that he neglected a setlist for the evening.
“Yeah, I been doing this a long time and I still fuck up,” Stinson said.
While Stinson’s spunk may not have come as any surprise, his mellow performance showed a refreshing new side of an artist many may know from Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum.
Soon enough, the time came for the Twin Cities-birthed Jayhawks to file in. The house lights dimmed and the crowd began to roar.
The Jayhawks, composed of Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg and Tim O’Reagan, took the stage just before 9:30, to play what would be a nearly two hour set. They started strong with an oldie but a goodie: “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” setting the tone for the rest of the night. Harmonicas and acoustic guitars took charge in the first part of the set, but just as ringleader Louris promised earlier in the show, the electric guitar did come out to shred later.
The group teased new songs, some of which they wrote while spending time in Woodstock during the pandemic. One thing about The Jayhawks is they have a very distinct, soothing sound that’s simply a product of the unique role each of their voices play. They truly seem to have their sound down to a science because the way they harmonize together just itches a part of the brain you’d think couldn’t be scratched. The result is seamless, even in these new songs, nearly 40 years later.
Maybe I’m biased because I grew up on their music, but I’ve revisited many of the songs that I never realized I subconsciously knew so well and, well, the itch is still being scratched, even for me, some 20 years later. Also still applicable many years later, is that, funny enough, Louris looks like my fourth grade teacher. Yes, the one whose class I left early for The Jayhawks’ show many years ago. And, if you’re wondering, I did in fact tell my teacher I was headed to see his doppelganger perform that day.
The Bearsville Theater performance demonstrated the poise the band now carries, deservingly, since their start in 1985. This was especially evident on stage when they were forced to deal with a slew of technical difficulties that popped up throughout the show. At one point, Louris playfully asked the soundbooth to turn down the stage lights because he needed to be able to see his wife. That was the first of several heartwarming remarks throughout the night that he made about his wife being in the crowd.
Adding more issues into the mix was the entire speaker system on the right side of the stage, which wasn’t working for the first few songs. While the crowd was frustrated, yelling to the crew about the problems, The Jayhawks rolled with the punches, jokingly welcoming everyone to their soundcheck. Despite the setbacks, spirits remained high and the stress of the technical difficulties were washed away as the crowd sang along to classics like “Tailspin,” “Blue,” “All the Right Reasons” and “I’d Run Away.” The setlist my dad snagged after the performance showed that the band also wasn’t afraid to go a bit off script along the way, in true Stinson fashion.
By the end of the evening, ticket holders left the charmed theater buzzing, back into the cold, windy October night, with no doubt in their mind that nearly 40 years later, The Jayhawks still got it.
I was glad I ventured slightly off the familiar Capital Region path and took to the woods to get my live music fix for the weekend.
