Friday night, Terminal West, Atlanta - Josh Rouse performing with his band. But before that, Nashville's Matthew Perryman Jones opened.
I wasn't familiar with his music before last night, but he has a fine voice and good songwriting skills. He played a set of mostly originals, closing with a Tom Waits cover.
But like the rest of the audience, I was there to see Josh Rouse. We last saw Rouse at Variety Playhouse in 2010, when he was touring in support of his El Tourista album (I still have the t-shirt). That record marked his move to Spain, and was followed by a couple other latin-bossa-nova-tinged releases, but now he's back, touring again in support of a new album, this time The Happiness Waltz.
Rouse's back-catalog of songs hold a lot of meaning to his fans, as they do to me, too. I "got on board" back in 2003, when he released 1972, a concept-album of sorts of songs written in the style that he imagined musicians played in the year of his birth. It had a great Philly soul vibe to it, and listening today brings back two distinct memories: cuddling with my girlfriend as the record played in the background, and consoling myself with the songs after she and I broke up. With that kind of emotional connection, it was easy to become a fan.
Rouse played several songs from his new album, most notably the single, Julie (Come Out of the Rain), but also played a lot of songs from his various other albums, including Lemon Tree and I Will Live On Islands (the world's cheeriest prison song) from El Tourista, 1972 and Comeback from 1972, Hollywood Bass Player from Country Mouse City House (which I bought a vinyl copy of last night at the merch table), Dressed Up Like Nebraska from the album of the same name, and Quiet Town from Subtítulo.
The audience was small (the show did not seem to be promoted very well) but enthusiastic, singing along on many songs. On one number, Rose just played the opening chords on his guitar, stood back, and let the audience sing the first stanza before joining in himself at the chorus. Everyone was having a great time, and I hadn't heard this much singing along since The Head and the Heart in Athens.
He ended his four-song encore with an eminently danceable version of Love Vibration from 1972.
My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that he didn't play his song Flight Attendant (he did at Variety Playhouse back in 2010), so I'll have to play it for myself.
Josh Rouse has embodied the indie singer-songwriter for a decade now, composing songs that reflect his residency in Nebraska, Nashville, and Valencia. It's great to have someone of his talent and sensitivity in our sphere of music, and it would be great if he stuck around a while and let us hear him live more frequently than once every three or so years.
Update (4/22/13): I listened to the Nashville broadcast last night and think we in Atlanta were treated to the better show, although he did perform Flight Attendant in Nashville.
I was there. I was glad he didn't just play the new album but the problem is, he's got too many albums to play from.
ReplyDeleteI would've loved to hear "The Ocean" but get that it's not a good one for a concert but would've loved something from "Under a Cold Blue SKy" like "Nothing Gives Me Pleasure" or "Feeling No Pain." Or the often overlooked "My Love is Gone" from Nashville.
Never heard him do "100m" live, don't know if he can these days since it's so falsetto.