Last Second Thoughts

Ummm...Where's the Rock?

well, it's late (at least for me), and i just got back from seeing Joseph Arthur at a packed IOTA with ankur. overall? i was disappointed. the opening act was some new york chick who seemed to be wearing some kind of blonde shag wig - she actually had a pretty decent, breathy, jazzy voice, but unfortunately, her guitar and keyboard skills just weren't up to speed. and come to think of it, neither was a good deal of her songwriting. yeah, i'm a bit bitter - but hey, i spent $12, so i have a right to some complaining...

as for joseph arthur...i've only listened to a songs on a couple of his albums (i have a mix CD), and i didn't know too much about his live show. his lyrics are extremely dark, and his songs can be quite percussive and edgy. so i was looking forward to seeing a tortured artist come on stage with a band and rock his inner demons out.

unfortunately, there was no band, only the previous new york chick playing a metallic gold violin and singing backup while JA played guitar. at least joseph arthur brought one of those fancy rock box things that will loop lines that you play right after you play them (vocal, guitar, guitar percussion) - did that make any sense? - so that made for some interesting arrangements. some songs worked, with the magic box allowing them to build to a nice crescendo. and two of his best numbers this evening were of the quiet, melancholy kind. but for the most part, his show pretty much floated out there, vocally and instrumentally, never really coalescing into tight songs. not worth the price of admission. stick to his studio work.