Photo by Michael Byars/Friend of B2R
Wednesday night at Crosstown Station was singer/songwriter night, and it would have been a lot like other singer/songwriter nights except that the headliner was John Doe, of X/Knitters and "Road House" fame.
For 75 minutes, he serenaded about 70 fans with a setlist of about a dozen and a half songs that included new material, some covers and a few well-known X songs. And he kept the mood light and warm all night.
Right away he told his audience:"I encourage you to keep your cell phones on. I don't give a shit. My music's not that precious."
Maybe not, but some of it got some reverential treatment, like "Burning House of Love" and "The New World." He pulled out "The Losing Kind," from the "Black Snake Moan" soundtrack (after declaring how awful the movie was).
"Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Silver Wings," "I Still Miss Someone" and Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You."
He agreed to take requests, but warned: "I haven't brushed up on my Duran Duran lately."Those kinds of wisecracks and that kind of levity gave the show a living-room-sessions vibe that kept it from spiraling into one-man/one-guitar tedium. Then again, for $10 most people in the room were there for the company -- for the man, more than the just the music.
Before the show, the crowd got an unplugged dose of a new band that's about to emerge within the local scene. Erik Voeks and Cody Wyoming each played a solo-acoustic set, then they sang together as the acoustic version of Miss America. If you are a fan of smart-pop songs in the vein of Squeeze or Crowded House (or the Finn Brothers), you are advised to see them as a full band next First Friday. They laid down some harmonies that recalled the Everly Brothers -- as pretty and clean as a beauty queen's smile.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
Damn I regret missing this show.
Posted by: Denny | March 18, 2010 at 01:49 PM
I liked that he covered Johnny Cash, because a few minutes earlier, I felt like how this must've been what it was like seeing Johnny Cash. Great great show...
Posted by: TK | March 19, 2010 at 12:12 AM
Great review. I was sad to miss him.
Posted by: Pam | March 20, 2010 at 05:26 PM