From: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org (oppositeview-digest) To: oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Subject: oppositeview-digest V9 #56 Reply-To: oppositeview@smoe.org Sender: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk oppositeview-digest Monday, October 1 2007 Volume 09 : Number 056 Today's Subjects: ----------------- OV: I alone escaped to tell thee... (L.A. review) [SensOfWndr@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 01:14:48 EDT From: SensOfWndr@aol.com Subject: OV: I alone escaped to tell thee... (L.A. review) Well, perhaps that's a tad over-dramatic, but as it seems nobody else has yet reported to the list on the L.A. show, I guess I will have to shake myself out of my SoCal vacation-induced stupor and normal lurking mode to file this report. Sorry for the delay for those of you hankering for news of the third leg of Justin's US tour (hah!), but I've been out of internet access for the last few days. So, the show was scheduled for 10:30, after another, much more high-profile show by Martha Wainwright. Martha had sung the previous night at the Hollywood Bowl at her brother Rufus' tribute to Judy Garland concert, so there was a buzz about her showcase gig and the place was sold-out and standing-room-only. By the time that crowd emptied out and they let us in, there was a bit of a deflated air about the place, and a much smaller audience greeted our hero -- I'd. And that was for a free show. It's too bad it was so late on a Monday night or it might have been better attended. Then again, not being from L.A., I don't really know how much advance promotion it received. I certainly didn't see any mention of it in this week's L.A. Weekly. But maybe these few quiet little shows are some well-paid marketing genius' idea of how to kick off promoting an album by word of mouth, or something. I sure hope Ryko gets its promotional act together for the record's release. Justin was dapper from the neck down in a bright lime-green dress shirt and the vest and pants of a grey pinstripe suit. From the neck up, his sideburns kind of merged with his three-day shadow. After a brief sound check -- even Justin's voice singing nonsense through the mic got a rise from the faithful - -- Justin started right in with the self-deprecation, explaining that he'd be playing new songs nobody knew, and that they were "some of the most miserable sh*t you're ever bound to hear" or something to that effect. Here is a reproduction of the setlist I snagged from atop the piano after the show, with a few of my notes on individual songs; I will scan the original setlist and post it somewhere when I get back home to Portland next week. It's not 100% accurate though as, at one point, Justin told his roadie, "No, we're not doing that song." Not being familiar yet with the new material, I can't tell you which one went unsung. HOTEL CAFE 1. WHAT IS LOVE FOR 2. SENTIMENTAL 3. DRIVING [Opening riff met with instant recognition and applause] 4. WHERE DID I GO? [Justin said, "A lot of my new songs are questions. Why? I don't know"] 5. STILL IN LOVE 6. SOMETHING IN MESS 7. GOLD DUST [A definite highlight] 8. WALKING THRU U 9. TELL HER THIS [A big ovation when he began this one] 10. NO, SURRENDER [Justin on keys for this one (as well as a couple of the above) -- this one blew the audience away with its verbal assault and really committed perf from Justin, met by a HUGE ovation from the small crowd] - -- 1. IF I EVR LVD U [Not! I think he actually did this one in the main set. So the first encore was -- unbeliveably -- WHISKEY REMORSE!!! Probably my single most favorite Dels song, though just a B-side. How great to hear it live in that context. If tapes of the show emerge, I'm the guy with the wolf-like howl once the song starts! ; ) ] 2. DOWNFALL [Preceded by Justin saying he's got a new record company, "who have been great... so far, at least, but I've been through this before. And so I hate doing songs from someone else's catalog, but here's one more Del Amitri song for you."] I didn't get the name of Justin's accompanist, but another self-deprecating remark our man made was that he plays and sings and the accompanist "is responsible for everything else, which is, actually music." The accompanist told him that was a ridiculous statement (that Justin's not "musical"). There was a hilarious moment during one of the early keyboard songs when the organ pedal kept slipping away downstage out of reach of Justin's foot, and the accompanist rushed around to shove it back under the keyboard, at which point Justin -- amidst a very serious song, of course -- couldn't help himself and cracked up. It was during the solo, though, so it didn't interrupt the song. Overall, he was in better voice than ever, I thought, though it's always easier not having to shout over a whole band. After the show, I approached him and reminded him we'd met before, that I was one of his first US fans (he wrote me a letter once!) and was present at their first ever US gig at Maxwell's in Hoboken in July, '86. He was amazed at that. Then I reminded him of how, when I saw him again on the Twisted tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington, I gave him a cassette copy of the 1986 Detroit radio interview with him and the band -- the same one Darren has recently digitized and posted on RFDA, BTW -- and wondered if he ever listened to it. He then amazed me by saying, yes indeed he had listened to it and it had blown his mind as he hadn't heard it since it had been recorded ten years earlier (at the time) and he couldn't believe how different he sounded -- or how arrogant. I said, "Well, Justin, you've always had the perfect balance of arrogance and humility." He laughed at that. Then I told him how much I enjoyed the new songs and how much I hoped he could come and play in Portland. "Well, I really hope I get to do a tour," he said. I said, "Yeah, you're a bit too old now to just wing it and sleep on fans' floors this time around," referring again to the '86 "Whistle Stop Tour" where they literally depended on fans to book gigs and put them up (they never took me up on my dinner-and-crash invite, sadly, as they didn't make it down to DC where I lived then!). He agreed, "Yes, I'm MUCH too old for that now." Well, that was about the extent of the conversation, and of my recollections of the show. Like I said, I'll post the setlist for gawking purposes next week and let y'all know where. Meanwhile, be sure to check out Darren's RFDA for that "young, arrogant" Justin interview -- it's a hoot! Best, Jeff Rosenberg ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com ------------------------------ End of oppositeview-digest V9 #56 *********************************