tonyballinger.com

Joe seemed a little off tonight. I blame the venue. I think the Double Door hosts the rudest crowds in all of Chicago. Of the approximately ten shows I’ve seen there, in only one did the performer command the full attention of the crowd. That performer was The Reverend Horton Heat. And he was on top of his game that night.

I don’t get the feeling that Joseph Arthur was as on top of his game for this show. While he has a respectable catalog of songs and a seasoned performance style, he also seems to be easily put off by an unattentive crowd. Which is understandable, given how often his music and lyrics are intensely personal.

But it might also be that his new release Our Shadows Will Remain stretches his talents a bit further than usual. He’s singing in a higher register than usual, and using a lot more backup vocals. It’s a different sound. And a particularly difficult sound to pull off convincingly live.

But the free downloadable song "

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

" from his site is pretty good. While you’re at it, you can download a live show from his site also.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2004 at 9:28 pm and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.