The Jayhawks
Vic Theater
Chicago, Illinois
January 28, 2011

Source: Audio Technica AT-899 omnis => Edirol R-09 (24/48)
Transfer: R-09 => WAV => Audition 1.5 (dither to 16-bit) => WAV => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC (level 8)

Location: Balcony, 3rd row, center

Disc one (54:50):
(1) Blue (4:02)
(2) I'd Run Away (3:53)
(3) Miss Williams' Guitar (3:50)
(4) Two Hearts (3:25)
(5) Real Light (4:05)
(6) Over My Shoulder (3:49)
(7) Bad Time (5:06)
(8) Banter (1:08)
(9) See Him On The Street (3:38)
(10) Nothing Left To Borrow (3:42)
(11) Ann Jane (4:23)
(12) Pray For Me (4:15)
(13) Red's Song (4:20)
(14) Ten Little Kids (5:07)

Disc two (54:16):
(1) Black Eyed Susan (6:09)
(2) She Walks In So Many Ways (2:46)
(3) Banter (1:02)
(4) Clouds (6:16)
(5) Waiting For The Sun (5:46)
(6) Nevada, California (5:01)
(7) Gilder Annie (4:23)
(8) Tomorrow The Green Grass (3:31)
(9) Encore break (3:09)
(10) Tampa To Tulsa (5:01)
(11) Darling Today (3:21)
(12) Ain't No End (4:22)
(13) People In This Place On Every Side (3:23)

Md5 signature file is included. Sorry, no artwork (feel free to make some)

Comments:

The second of two nights at the Vic Theater in Chicago and nearing the end of the five-city "Give The People What They Want" 2011 tour. Marking the return of Marc Olson to the fold (and to commemorate the reissue of their classic "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass" albums), the original line-up undertook a limited tour in which both albums were performed in their entirety in Chicago and New York. Night two opened with the complete "Tomorrow The Green Grass" and followed with a collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks, and other classics from the Olson era. I personally found that the new/unreleased songs slowed the momentum somewhat, but overall this was just as enjoyable as the first night.

Gary made one of the funniest comment I've heard from him, after "Bad Time": That was a song I wish I wrote, but it was written by Grand Funk Railroad ... I like to think about Mark Farner going out to the mailbox to get that royalty check for about five dollars."

I was very happy with how the recording turned out. Since I was pretty pleased with my night one recording, I headed back to the same spot for the second show and wound up in the seat directly behind the one I had the night before. You'd expect that the sound on my recording would be identical to the previous night's recording, but somehow night two is actually a little better -- vocals are more prominent, high end is a little clearer, recording is overall a little more rich. Evidently there were some tweaks made at the soundboard, because this a superior recording and everything I did was identical to the night before.

Whereas there was *almost* no close-mic interference for the first night, there is none at all on this recording. The stars really aligned for me -- the woman beside me was doing crossword puzzles, and the couple in front of me decided to record the show using the "Voice Memo" app on their iPhones and remained stone-silent throughout. (I imagine they were pretty disappointed when they got home.) Mp3 samples are included in the comments; altogether I think it sounds great considering the gear I was using.

I know there were at least 2 tapers on the floor for both nights, so there may be other sources that surface, and hopefully at least one will sound better than these versions. In the meantime, I think this should be serviceable for most collectors -- both are pretty solid.

If you're a fan of the original line-up and/or "Tomorrow The Green Grass," you'll find this worth the bandwidth.