An Evening With Jay Farrar (and others)

I met up with Pete and Claire last night at the Eagle's Crest for a couple pre-show brews before heading over to the east side Borders where Jay Farrar put on a brief solo performance followed by an autograph signing session. Just as I was parking, Claire pulled into the lot. We walked in and, much to our surprise, Pete was already there sitting by the window and cozying up to a Miller Lite. (Thursdays there feature $1 Miller and Bud Lites.) During the course of our bullshitting, Pete told Claire the story of my mal-haberdsashery at Bookie's wedding, which does not bear repeating here. Just before 7, we took off for Borders.

We found an empty table and a trio of seats and I set up my video camera. Glancing around, I noticed Ronaldo walking towards the door. I flagged him down when he entered and he found a seat near us. I hadn't seen him in some time so it was good to chat with him in person. He mentioned that he was taking Sam, his son, to a fair in Illinois for a double bill of Blue Oyster Cult and UFO. I told him to yell for "Joan Crawford" and the song's lyrics became the standard quip for the evening. Then I saw The Dulcinea walking in and she too joined us. I was a bit nervous at first but we reached amicability quickly.

The show was just Jay on guitar and harmonica. It was really quite a good little show. If memory serves, this is the setlist:

Bandages & Scars
Ipecac
Gramophone
Joe Citizen Blues
Windfall
Medication

I was hoping that he'd do "Medication" as A) it's a great song and B) the live solo performance of it on the bonus DVD documentary that comes with Son Volt's latest album, Okemah and the Melody of Riot was fucking awesome! Needless to say, I was not disappointed. The song is a great solo piece. The jam that closes the tune works incredibly well with Jay alone. It retains that country raga feel but is busier. Good stuff! I videotaped the performance and got some clips with my still camera too. I'll post something after I capture the video and have time to do some editing. Just before Jay started "Afterglow 61", some guy came up to me and said that I had to turn off my video camera. So I shut the LCD screen and hit pause. When the guy walked away, I surreptitiously started recording again. Here's some pics from the performance:







After the performance, I went outside with my friends to enjoy a root. On the way out the door, I ran into Marv. A day late and a dollar short. Having missed the show, he joined us outside. Pete and I were both surprised that Jay actually had his eyes open during the whole performance! Try watching Son Volt's Austin City Limits DVD for contrast. During the autographing bit, Jay came across as being a really nice, if shy, person. I must admit, he was a bit more talkative than I expected. This is, however, not to say that he suffered from loghorrea. He joked around a bit and was kind enough to let me have my picture taken with him. (I will spare y'all the sight of my visage.) I was introduced to Farrar via Son Volt in 1995 and it felt odd that I was finally going to meet him after 10 years. They guy has written several songs that have become part of my life over the past decade - songs that I turn to again and again for comfort or to raise my spirits or for simple listening pleasure.

When all was said and done, Marv bailed - for the friendly confines of Mickey's, no doubt. The Dulcinea and I chatted outside alone because Pete and Claire had disappeared.

Nervous.

Pete was found and Claire followed. I had to drop them off back at the Eagle's Crest. The Dulcinea went to her car and we to mine. After the drop off, I went home. But I didn't stay there long.