After hearing JOE WEST'S new album 'The Human Cannonball' I was so takenby the songs and the manner of their performance that I was really excited by the prospect of this gig.
Never without its problems. though, it appears to have been somewhat jinxed, venue change followed venue change (I think
4 changes in all was the final count), such that I guess it should not have come as any great surprise that the audience could have been counted upon the manual digits of any one of those person's present.
The Jabez Clegg presented itself as a new venue (certainly for me) and despite being close to empty, one with definite potential. But tonight and despite the efforts of those few present it lacked the necessary atmosphere to ignite the smoothly casual, highly intimate nature of Joe West's performance.
That, however is not to say that the band were not good or the music enjoyable - they were on both counts but as with all performers you were left feeling that Joe and the guys (Ben Wright - lead guitar, Noah Baumeister - bass) would have drawn so much more enthusiasm and pleasure from playing before a larger, enthusiastic audience.
Set opener was 'The Banker's Son', beautifully played with Ben Wright adding e-bow to his guitar to create the atmosphere of big time ambition and small town loss. An effect also used on the album's title track which coincidentally shares similar topics for its content. Also from the new album were 'Oklahoma Bound' which was accordingly jaunty, 'Straight Man In A Gay World' with its tragi-comedy take on machismo further enhanced by the use of kazoo and a great, rolling '$300 Car'.
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Most other tracks were unfamiliar but followed the same slightly cynical, slightly bemused humour evident throughout the album. One song, the subject of which appeared to be called 'Frankie', unfolded amidst a cloud of bubbles from the strategically placed bubble machine - I couldn't work out from the lyrics whether or not there was any particular significance to the bubbles, but drifting around the empty room they certainly added to the pathos of the scene.
Another song seemed to be titled 'Roll Over Fat Boy' and contained a snarly lyric and provided one of the most impassioned points of the night. In amongst the originals we also got covers of 'Okie From Muskogee', sufficiently skewed by Joe and his buddies for it to slip easily into the pervading sense of black humour and a Townes Van Zandt song that, as his songs tend to, brought out the real quality of tonight's performers.
The night was very enjoyable and I look forward to his return and the possibility that more people will be aware of him and prepared to give him a couple of hours of their time - I'm sure they won't regret it. Unquestionable a quality performer and songwriter.
Unfortunately I can't say the same about his dress sense wearing what appeared to be a lime green tea-cosy perched upon his head throughout. Strange!
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