These words,
spoken by Jars of Clay lead singer Dan Haseltine during a heartfelt
introduction to the song “Inland,” proved to be a wonderfully appropriate theme
to the band’s 20-year celebration show that took place Saturday night at The Franklin Theatre. As the band energetically played through two decades worth of
material, the arc of Jars of Clay’s ever-evolving story and their
ever-expanding sound was beautifully displayed in both loud and quiet moments
of sheer sonic splendor.
In a move of
appropriately pure sentimental grandeur, the band opened the show playing “Art
in Me” as just a foursome. By playing a song from their debut album in the
exact same manner fans would have seen them in at the beginning of their career
in 1994, the tone for the evening was perfectly set. The dual acoustic guitars
of Stephen Mason and Matt Odmark, the piano of Charlie Lowell, and the uniquely
identifiable vocals of Haseltine leading the fray has certainly been one of the
hallmarks of the band’s storied career throughout their expansive musical
iterations.
However,
nostalgia has never been something Jars of Clay has ever really been interested
in. So even as the band played another early gem (“Fade to Grey”) for their
second song, they were joined by cellist Matt Nelson, a prominent member of
their touring band for the last year or so. Nelson remained for the majority of
the show, fluctuating between cello, bass, and ukulele and adding impressive
aural ornamentation throughout each song. His percussive accompaniment on
“Work” added a really nice depth to the acoustic reworking of the Good Monsters rocker.
By the time
they launched into their fourth song “Reckless Forgiver,” they had added
another instrumentalist to the mix, frequent live drummer Jake Goss. Goss has
played with Jars of Clay since 2010 and provides a stunning sonic backbone to a
band that only occasionally employees a bass guitar in its live setting. His
ability to drive the energetic moments and lay back during the quieter ones
allows the songs to exist in really unique ebb and flow atmospherics.
The next few
songs showed just a hint of the multi-instrumental prowess that Stephen Mason
gets to fully unleash in the studio. “Loneliness and Alcohol” was given an
aggressive double electric upgrade, “No One Loves Me Like You” was played on
ukulele, and “Something Beautiful” featured his folksy acoustic guitar
interplay with indispensable co-guitarist Matt Odmark. While Odmark’s rock-solid
rhythm guitar and fantastic background harmonies added a beautiful supporting
layer underneath each and every song, they seemed to feature a bit more
prominently in the folk bounce of the next song “Eyes Wide Open.”
Again
inviting additional instrumentation to the stage, a string trio joined the band
to add a gorgeous cinematic sheen to “Boys (Lesson One)” and “Silence” before
Blood:Water Mission co-founder Jena Nardella surprised the band with a pre-intermission
announcement of a $20,000 donation that was given to Blood:Water Mission in
honor of the band’s 20-year career. It was a beautifully poignant moment as
just earlier that week it was announced that Blood:Water Mission had officially
reached 1 million people in Africa with clean water.
After the
intermission, Jars of Clay launched into an amped-up second set that made it
seem like they had somehow opened up for a different version of themselves.
After a quick intro of a piece of Much
Afraid’s “Overjoyed,” the band launched into a bombastic rendition of
“After the Fight” that featured some wonderfully chaotic electric guitar work
from Odmark. Immediately after was an equally intense “Trouble Is” that
featured Mason’s swampy, slinky slide guitar lines and Haseltine’s bluesy howl.
After taking just a moment to catch their breath with “I Need Thee” and some
nice words about the Indelible Grace hymn movement, the band featured a new
version of “God Will Lift Up Your Head” that they had refashioned for 20, the fan-curated retrospective double
album they recorded earlier this year. Joining them on stage for the radical
reworking was Dan Michaels (The Choir) on a wonderfully wailing saxophone.
After a
thundering-drum-and-slide-guitar runthrough of “Collide,” the band brought out
another special guest, former Sixpence None The Richer vocalist and current
solo artist Leigh Nash. Nash revisited the electric-folk romp “Smoke and
Mirrors” from Good Monsters and her
charming duet vocals with Haseltine were a definite highlight of the entire
night. Charlie Lowell’s soulful organ stabs and fleet-fingered runs during this
song added a tasty undercurrent to the song as well.
In a
surprise move that was never more perfect than the celebratory occasion of that
specific room on that specific night, the band played “Flood,” the song that
gave them the unique dual-market splash of Christian and mainstream attention
that afforded them the kind of non-pigeonholed career they ended up having.
Although I had heard them play “Flood” numerous times in the mid-90s while
touring on their first and second albums, it hasn’t exactly been the setlist
staple it once was. Knowing the special moment that the band and audience were
experiencing together, everyone seemed crazy into it and it elevated the song
to a level I’d never heard it before. As a bonus, this was also the first time
I had ever heard live strings going into the bridge section (courtesy of
Nelson’s cello) as it is on the album. It was a pretty sweet moment all around to
the least.
The band
carried the energy into their closing back-to-back 1-2 knockout punch of “Dead
Man (Carry Me)” and “Inland.” Haseltine was really reflective during his spoken
introduction to “Inland” and the song’s anthemic chorus threatened to rattle
down the historic walls of the theater. Closing with the title track of their
most recent studio album (the rerecordings on 20 aside) was not only a move that reminded the audience of the
forward-facing direction the band is moving in, but it was also one that
reminded the band how far they had come from the fresh-faced foursome that
recorded their debut demo in a college campus recording studio twenty years
ago.
Of course,
shows that carry this much weight don’t end without an encore though, right?!?
The band
graciously opened their encore by asking if there were any requests. After a
hilariously chaotic audience response, the band delivered a gut-wrenching “Oh
My God” and a pair of requests from The
Long Fall Back to Earth: “Two Hands” and “Safe to Land.” Then, the band
invited the string trio back out for a tender closing twosome of tracks from
their self-titled debut album. Fan favorite “Worlds Apart” garnered another
fervent singalong and the new 20
version of “Love Song” featured more of the Lowell-led piano work that had eloquently
peppered and elevated the entire set.
After taking
another bow and leaving the stage, it was clear that even at the 20-year mark,
Jars of Clay is showing no signs of wistful remembrance for what was. Instead they continue to opt for the path they have always chosen, the uncharted waters of what will
be.
Earlier in
the evening I had the distinct pleasure of moderating a pre-show Q&A with
the band. The guys discussed the initial ideas behind the 20 album and the fun they had both seeing the fan selections and also rerecording the songs. They also fielded questions from the audience and pulled
back the curtain a bit on themselves, their history, their influences, and whether or not
Mason still has those electric orange cargo pants from the “Collide” video.
Photos courtesy of Amanda Hodge and @jarsofclay