overlap

Some gigs are unknown quantities of new hope, some bring comfortable familiarity, and some sit right in the difficult middle. This was one of the latter category, someone whose music I'm extremely fond of in the limited extent I'm familiar with a vast catalogue, and there's always a risk of either not getting the hits you do know, or the whole of the new concept album. It's not my habit to criticise for the sake of it, but equally I'm not beyond telling it like it is. Support act Susie Wilkins is accompanied by nothing more than an acoustic guitar and occasional backing vocals, and that doesn't exactly help. She's clearly got a fabulously powerful voice, but technical skill on its own is not enough and it needs some material to suit it. The songs are a mix of new engaging and classic themes, but the execution of them seems just to lack a certain identity. We stretch from Julianne Regan to a not-quite-there Janis Joplin, and there are repeated bursts of Melisma Ca-a-a-a-a-arey vocal acrobatics that are impressive once, but not my idea of listening pleasure. Best of luck Susie, but not for me. Three quarters of an hour of roadie activity later, the rammed venue meets first Graham Maby and his five string bass, then Dave Houghton and his tidy set of baby drums, and finally Joe Jackson. Brief snatches of the melody line gradually lead the crowd into Steppin' Out, and while the piano gradually drops into the song, the vocal lines are not quite where they are on those familiar records. My voice doesn't sound exactly like it did twenty-five years ago either, mind, but nobody's paying to listen to me. After two or three more songs, there is mention that this the first show of a seven month tour, which rather explains a little ringrust. Six songs in and On Your Radio has us just getting up a head of steam, which promptly disperses as Graham and Dave leave the stage so JJ can do So Low on his own. With just piano, bass and drums on the stage, there's nowhere to hide, and the rhythm section have just the right combination of tightness and urgency to do a marvellous job. I'd rather see Weller trying to keep up with them than noodling away about his wild wild wood too, but that's another story. So, from perhaps sketchy though understandable beginnings, once the sound engineer got everything fixed and the band hit their stride, we got a decent mix of material from new album Rain, and a healthy serving of those classic pop singles. It's a rare thing for me to watch something so completely devoid of guitar, and a refreshing change too. As the piano gradually goes out of tune, we end up with a raucous You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) played almost entirely by Graham and Dave, with Joe on a shaker and a handful of piano notes, before closing with a majestic run through A Slow Song, which is where we came in - click the title link to see a rather younger JJ doing A Slow Song.

Labels: gigs, Joe Jackson, Susie Wilkins