Hey The Species, Jolie mentioned that she lives in Brooklyn. Don't know if she gigs up there but it's good stuff.
So, the Jolie Holland show did not disappoint. She only got around 45 minutes but managed to do quite a few songs spanning her catalog and even a few covers, she closed with a Townes Van Zandt tune, didn't recognize it by name. She performed solo with the electric guitar which had a warm, fuzzy tone. She sounded great, her voice has quite a range and an exaggerated warble that's her style, very recognizable. Her presence was that of a seasoned performer and she made small talk, told a joke and shared a story during the times she stopped to tune.
I'd never been to the Granada before, here's another great Dallas venue for a concert. Like the Kessler, it's an old theater that's been converted to a dual-purpose facility. Before the show they lowered a screen over the stage (think curtain) and there projected images of The Old 97s, a venerable local act who'll be playing in a few weeks.
Two more screens were on either side, to the right a slideshow of refreshments and more upcoming acts. To the left a twitter scroll of all tweets featuring @granadatheater. So I had to tweet, right?
About a minute later I heard a guy laugh as he read my tweet aloud. I smiled, it doesn't take much to amuse me. Between shows I read a funny one, "
@granadatheater My mom made me go to this concert and every one smells like weed."
The headlining act, the Jayhawks were better than expected. But that's not difficult when one has none. Turns out I'd heard their
single recently and liked it. But I thought it was the Byrds! Is that a little joke I'm just now getting? The Jayhawks sound like the Byrds? Could be. They were a traditional five piece arrangement. Both guitarists harmonized on all the songs. They were a good band and I enjoyed the show. There was an alt-country-rock side to their sound, but it was generally rock in the broadest sense. The lead guitarist had some nifty licks, the acoustic, rhythm player and co-singer looked like Martin Mull.
We left a bit early because, you know, we're old and it's a week night. But I didn't mind because Jolie was great and I got to chat with her a bit at the merchandise table. It's funny how life-sized and normal these people are when off stage.
