From: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org (oppositeview-digest) To: oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Subject: oppositeview-digest V9 #57 Reply-To: oppositeview@smoe.org Sender: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-oppositeview-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk oppositeview-digest Tuesday, October 2 2007 Volume 09 : Number 057 Today's Subjects: ----------------- OV: Re: I alone escaped to tell thee... (L.A. review) ["Porl" ] OV: Re: Oops, LA review rewrite!! (I alone escaped to tell thee...) ["Ste] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 13:24:46 +0100 From: "Porl" Subject: OV: Re: I alone escaped to tell thee... (L.A. review) Cheers for that. I enjoyed that. Like you say if any tapes of these shows become avalible, I too will be after copies. If the shows were recorded in any way I bet the tapes would be like Gold Dust, if you'll pardon the pun. Hahahaha speaking of which, did I hear right? Someone on here said that Gold Dusts wasn't written by Justin. I was wondering if this was true and if so who wrote it, coz it's a cracking little choon. Porl - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.13.35/1039 - Release Date: 9/29/2007 9:46 PM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 01:22:27 EDT From: SensOfWndr@aol.com Subject: OV: Oops, LA review rewrite!! (I alone escaped to tell thee...) Sorry to clog your inboxes/make the digest really really long, but after I re-edited my review to add more info and fine-tune some details, I accidentally sent the first, unedited version! So please ignore that one and read this one! (Or feel free to read both and comment on whether my changes were good or not! :) ) Well, perhaps that subject line'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 several days. So, the show was scheduled for 10:30 at the very hip singer-songwriter venue Hotel Cafe, right after another, much more high-profile show by Martha Wainwright. She had sung the previous night at the Hollywood Bowl at her brother Rufus' tribute to Judy Garland concert (which was actually the reason for our LA visit -- when Justin's show was announced for the night after, I couldn't believe my luck! -- and which was fantastic BTW), so there was a buzz about Martha's showcase gig, for which 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 say about 40 people, tops, maybe less. 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, other than on KCRW I assume, since they sponsored the show. 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 later in the 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 song titles are questions. Why? I don't know."] 5. STILL IN LOVE 6. SOMETHING IN MESS 7. GOLD DUST [A definite highlight, now I know why folks are surprised it's not on the album] 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 earlier songs) -- this one blew the audience away with its concentrated verbal assault and a really committed perf from Justin; it was met by a HUGE ovation from the small crowd. I could definitely see this one getting some airplay.] - -- 1. IF I EVR LVD U [Not! That's what it said on the setlist, but I think he actually did this one in the main set. So the first encore was -- unbeliveably -- WHISKEY REMORSE!!! Woo hoo! Probably my single most favorite Dels song, though just a wee B-side. How great to hear it live! If tapes of the show emerge, I'm the guy letting out 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 because they've been so great, I feel bad 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 (since it implied 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, I thought Justin was in better voice than ever -- though of course it's always easier not having to shout over a whole band. After the show, I approached him and reminded him we'd met twice before, that I was one of his very first American fans (he wrote me back in response to a fan letter once!) and was present at their first ever US gig at Maxwell's in Hoboken in July, '86. He seemed 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 show Darren has recently digitized and posted on RFDA, BTW -- and wondered if he ever listened to it. It was then my turn to be amazed, as he told me that 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 "I couldn't believe how different I sounded -- and how arrogant!" I said, "Well, Justin, you've always had that perfect balance of arrogance and humility. It's one of your strengths." 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 to find it. Meanwhile, be sure to check out Darren's Radio Free Del Amitri for that "different, arrogant" Justin interview -- it's a hoot! Especially if you're a fan of the first album. Cheers, Jeff Rosenberg (Here a Jeff, there a Jeff) - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.13.35/1039 - Release Date: 9/29/2007 9:46 PM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 17:02:10 -0500 From: Kelly Doudna Subject: OV: Justin on Amazon Hello all, Ha! It must be official nowjust got this notice from Amazon.co.uk: - --------- Hello, , We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated "Can You Do Me Good" by Del Amitri have also purchased "What Is Love for" by Justin Currie. For this reason, you might like to know that "What Is Love for" will be released on 8 October 2007. You can pre-order yours for just #8.98 by following the link below. What Is Love for Justin Currie Price: #8.98 Release Date: 8 October 2007 To learn more about What Is Love for, please visit the following page at Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000TLYOHU/ref=pe_snp_OHU Best wishes, Amazon.co.uk - --------- Hoping Justin will swing through Minneapolis at some point Kelly Minneapolis - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.13.36/1041 - Release Date: 10/1/2007 10:20 AM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 16:42:55 -0500 From: "Steve & Cindy Meyer" Subject: OV: Re: Oops, LA review rewrite!! (I alone escaped to tell thee...) Thanks for the great review, Jeff. Whiskey Remorse?? I might have jumped in the car and driven the 2000 miles to LA had I known he was going to play that! :-) Cindy PS: I enjoyed the long version of the review! - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.13.36/1041 - Release Date: 10/1/2007 10:20 AM ------------------------------ End of oppositeview-digest V9 #57 *********************************