Interview by Tim Cooper | Film by Kathy Magee

In a double-header that might well have gone down in mid-Seventies LA as “One Of Those Nights” (to coin a phrase), a sold-out Borderline hosted a stunning show by Dawes and Jonathan Wilson.

On a steamy July night Dawes opened the show with their Seventies-influenced jams, evoking echoes of everyone from Little Feat to The Band, before being joined by Wilson, showcasing songs from similarly Seventies-influenced solo debut Gentle Spirit.

It was a night of tight rhythms and harmonies, loose guitar solos and keyboard improvisations. After two hours of spellbinding interplay, and in one of the worst kept secrets in town, up jumped Jackson Browne, who was doing this sort of thing before the guys onstage with him were born.

He gave the rapt crowd, including luminaries ranging from Roy Harper to Caitlin Rose, half an hour more including These Days and a tribute to Warrren Zevon before closing with – inevitably – a mass singalong of Take It Easy.

It was a magical night and it’s a tribute to the present-day keepers of the Laurel Canyon flame that both Dawes and Wilson held their own against the living legend alongside them.

Before that we caught up with Dawes backstage and persuaded them to tell us a little about themselves before playing an acoustic version of ‘How Far We’ve Come’ from their album ‘Nothing is Wrong’.