Hawk of the Town

THE JAYHAWKS (Whelan's, Dublin)

While not a full-fledged Jayhawks performance since only two members were in attendance to play an acoustic set, this Saturday evening show certainly took on the air of a full-fledged 'event'. The American group's reputation, it seems, had preceded them.

Indeed, with free beer on offer and a surprisingly small number of the many invites-only present milking the free bar for all it was worth, it was very clear that people were here for the gig - not the lig.

Picture-perfect ageing hippies, Mark Olson and Gary Louris set an intimate mood as they joked with each other and set up songs with personal anecdotes and one-liners. With one partner focusing on singing and strumming and the other on harmonies and more intricate guitar lines, the two exemplified the kind of interaction and understanding necessary to make this type of working relationship successful.

Like male Judds or Indigo Girls, they seem to know every idiosyncrasy of each other's voices and guitars yet still manage to sound fresh playing country/rock songs you know they've played together a hundred times before.

But after a while the two-part harmonies - while nice - started to wear thin and the harmonica recalled Neil Young one too many times. "Where are the rest of the Jayhawks?" I demand to know. Hell, if Lloyd Cole could show up to watch, you'd think the least the band could do was come along themselves!

Thankfully, this tantalisingly mellow show ended with the promise of a full-on Jayhawks gig in months to come, and as much anticipation as applause.

• Tara McCarthy