Over a career that has spanned thirty-six years, you may be excused in thinking that the assembled musicians are treading water to a certain extent at this stage.
Happily, such assumptions are completely groundless and the finely honed talents of these five players are clearly at the peak of their collective powers if tonight’s concert is typical of their performance dynamic. The beautiful surroundings of the National Concert Hall provide the perfect location for a band who themselves are both elegant and ageless. Siblings Margo, Michael and Peter Timmons are joined (as always) by founder member Alan Anton and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird, who has performed on almost every album the band has released.
It's a huge testament to their enduring popularity and talent that the band has continued over all this time to forge a singular path through the shark infested waters of the music business and has been releasing albums on their own label, Latent Records, for many years now. Their discography of both studio and live recordings is one that sets the highest standards and there are many compilations also released that bear witness to their legacy.
Tonight, Margo is very enthusiastic about performing in a live setting, post-Covid, and mentions all the challenges that everyone has faced during the two ‘lost years’ of the pandemic. It has been a time for reflection and for also acknowledging the role that we all play in each other’s lives. Margo has always ensured that both the band and the extended family maintained a strong work–life balance and this fiercely held independence that Cowboy Junkies protect, stands as a beacon to every other band who look to follow in their footsteps.
The night is broken into two sets, the first of which is shorter, containing seven songs, and the band perform for close to three hours, including the interval. Margo talks about the fact that they are here to sell albums, and there is a focus on the new release, SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION, a collection of nine cover songs that have meant something to the band over the years. Cowboy Junkies has always performed cover songs, right back to their breakout album from 1988, THE TRINITY SESSION. However, the band just doesn’t faithfully follow the original song versions instead they interpret them in a fashion that instantly places the unique sound and stamp of the Cowboy Junkies arrangements on them.
The latest release includes artists as diverse as Bob Dylan and The Cure, balancing them with others like David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young. The first set tonight included three of these cover songs, interspersed with three originals. They opened with the Bowie classic, Five Years, which they put their own magical slant upon while also sticking closely to the original. The early inclusion of their interpretation of Sweet Jane (Lou Reed) followed, an iconic song that is much loved and one that identified the band as a new act to watch when they first played it back in 1988. Another early inclusion was Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning and while the band played as proficiently as ever, dovetailing around each other as each song melody unfurled, there was a sense of being in the lower gears of their power, not helped by the venue sound that saw the vocals of Margo somewhat drowned out when the arrangements lifted and became louder in delivery.
After the interval, we were treated to four songs that very much raised the tempo of the evening, with All That Reckoning (Part One), Missing Children, Escape Is So Simple, and Lay It Down providing the wonderful soundscapes of layered guitars and hushed intimacy mixed with Margo beginning to hit her stride in front of the microphone. The band really doesn’t engage with the audience on any level; no eye contact or spontaneous smiles – leaving it all to Margo as the key focal point regarding communicating; witty asides, comments, observations, and stories to regale the enthralled audience.
The pivotal moment in the second set arrived with the wonderful intro to Lay It Down, the band locking into an extended passage of building the performance – Peter Timmons on drums and Alan Anton on bass perfectly in the pocket of subtle support while Michael Timmons and Jeff Bird created a tour de force of reverb and delay on their guitars, delivering great atmospheric wall-of-sound moments in their resonance and tonality. There followed an acoustic set of three songs with Black Eyed Man, Rake and Powderfinger, the latter two songs written by Townes Van Zandt and Neil Young respectively. It proved a special moment in the show, with Margo delivering beautifully nuanced vocals and both brother Michael and Jeff Bird accompanying on a selection of guitars, mandolin and harmonica. It was almost like being in a quiet back room of your favourite pub with a fire blazing on a cold winter’s night.
Margo spoke of her reputation as the queen of sad songs and her natural storytelling ability highlighted a tale of being at a private party with Aslan as the entertainment. When the singing became spontaneous in the early hours, and amidst the celebrations, Margo was pressured into taking a turn; her rendition of I’m So Lonesome, I Could Cry had everyone exchanging somber glances as the mood dipped, instead of continuing the revelry.
The concert wound down with 'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel, followed by an invigorating rendition of Hunted and the gentler, Good Friday. The final song Blue Moon, as always, remains a highlight and Margo took her bow before returning for a superb encore that twinned Misguided Angel with Walking After Midnight, the perfect ending to what proved to be a triumphant return to Ireland for this inspiring band of enduring quality and refinement. Whether it was country soul or psychedelic blues workouts, Cowboy Junkies remain at the top of their craft as they continue to define new territories for their unique sound to explore.
Review by Paul McGee Photography by Declan Culliton