Cowboy Junkies ride quiet, soft dynamics in triumphant Jergel's Rhythm Grille show

MARSHALL TWP. – "If you don't like quiet, soft songs, you came to the wrong place," Cowboy Junkies singer Margo Timmons noted with a smile Tuesday at Jergel's Rhythm Grille.

She said that just as the Canadian lo-fi/alt-country band had finished "Black Eyed Man" and prepared to cover Townes van Zandt's "Rake" as part of a four-song, mid-show acoustic set joined by her brother Michael Timmins on guitar and Jeff Bird on mandolin.

Before that elegant acoustic passage, Margo politely urged fans to cut their noisy conversations, adding she could get away with demanding that more demonstratively if she was, say, Bruce Springsteen.

Most of the crowd complied, abetted by a few paradoxical shouts of "Quiet!" by some fans, though the show sailed on, showcasing Cowboy Junkies' rich textures, shifting dynamics, intelligent lyrics and Margo's oh-so-pretty voice.

As she explained at the onset, the first set ― crafted to stir up intermission merch table sales ― was a relatively short collection of covers and brand-new tunes from the band's impending June 2 release "Such Ferocious Beauty."

Margo sat center stage behind a bouquet of pinkish-white flowers, poised in the middle of a four-point square formed by the likewise seated Michael, their brother Peter Timmins (drums), Bird (mandolin, harmonica, hand percussion) and Alan Anton (bass), the only member not seated.

Without an opening act, the music launched at 8 p.m. prompt with a lovely rendering of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down," then the Cowboy Junkies' trusty version of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane," languidly paced and intoxicating with its open spaces. A low, steady churn of guitar, Bird's drumstick crisply whacking the edge of a drum, and Margo's yearning voice made it mesmerizing.

Deeper cuts by the Rolling Stones ("No Expectations") and David Bowie ("Five Years") kept the alluring vibe going, sandwiching a tasty new song "Hard to Build. Easy to Break" with its verse "Love the things you do not know/Eat the things you do/Then lick the spoon that stirs your pot/And eat the pudding, too/Tend the flame that lit your way/Stop worshiping the ash/Sweep up all those broken things/And throw them all, in the trash."

After a 20-minute intermission, the band got back to business, promptly unleashing their most enduring original, "A Common Disaster," fueled by Michael's guitar tones as crackling as a campfire, with his sis' voice neatly swooping into and out of the chorus.

The post-acoustic set shined with "Those Final Feet" (chorus: "You said never to grow old/but you forgot to tell me how") and the mandolin-infused "Misguided Angel," with Margo singing elegantly about a far-from-perfect-man who keeps her satisfied.

Both selections elicited ample cheers from the crowd.

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Margo thanked the nearly sold-out audience for its support ― "I wouldn't go to a show and stand all night" ― as the Cowboy Junkies encored with the electrifying "Murder, Tonight, in The Trailer Park," where she let rip with some long emotional vocal climbs.

Since its 1990s heyday, Cowboy Junkies haven't played Pittsburgh much, so it was great to the band again on a local stage, still in excellent form.

Here's hoping their next swing through town will visit a theater, like maybe Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland, where a seated crowd would have a better view of the likewise seated band, and find less temptation to talk during the performance.

More: Cowboy Junkies lyricist talks tour, new songs & alt-country/folk band's legacy

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Cowboy Junkies shined in a long overdue Pittsburgh area appearance