| Reunion
Gig Report by Todd Bishopp |
It was a cold night in Bristol on September 17th, 2002 but it was as
hot as an oven inside a packed Fleece & Firkin Pub. The pub was
filled beyond its capacity as Joe Jackson fans got what they’d
been waiting over twenty years for: the reunion of the original Joe
Jackson Band! Over the next 11 days, Joe Jackson, Gary Sanford, Graham
Maby, and Dave Houghton barnstormed around the U.K. on a warm-up tour
to prepare for the recording of a new studio album. The tour consisted
of stops in Bristol, Brighton, Oxford, two shows in Joe's hometown of
Portsmouth, London, and Northampton. All of these shows were performed
at clubs with a capacity of 500-1000 people. This made for a very intimate
and interactive experience for the fans lucky enough to attend the sold-out
shows.
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Fleece &
Firkin Pub |
The Joe Jackson Band looked great and most importantly sounded great
as they played
their hearts out night after night. The shows were a wonderful mix of
classic songs, choice covers, and great new songs. Every night featured
tight and rocking renditions of “One More Time,” “Look
Sharp!,” and “On Your Radio” while “Is She Really
Going Out With Him?,” “Real Men,” “Home Town,”
and “Different For Girls” had the fans singing along. Over
the course of the shows, eleven brand new songs debuted. Crowd reaction
to the new songs was especially strong and favorable.
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The
new songs include “Still Alive,” which is a Beatlesque pop
number, a beautiful ballad called “Blue Flame,” a funky
tune titled “Dirty Martini,” and “Thugs R Us,”
a driving ska song. There are also three amazing rockers – “Bright
Grey,” “Fairy Dust,” and “Little Bit Stupid.”
The rest of the new songs include the pop rockers “Awkward
Age” and “Take It Like A Man” and two more ballads
“Chrome” and “Love At First Light.” After seven
nights of seeing and hearing these new songs performed, I find it difficult
to pick a personal favorite. Suffice it to say the new album is going
to be great.
A definite
highlight of the shows was Joe’s solo bit midway through. It was
during this set that the audience would get to hear some great stories
from Joe and would be treated to some exquisite covers: Graham Parker’s
“You Can’t Be Too Strong,” The Beatles “For
No One” and “Eleanor Rigby,” David Bowie’s “Life
On Mars?,” Steely Dan’s “Any Major Dude,” and
Duke E llington’s “Satin Doll".
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(click
on image for larger view)
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The band’s
playing was energetic and sharp throughout the tour. You could see how
happy Joe, Dave, Gary, and Graham were to be playing together again.
The band reached new heights with each show, jamming longer and more
frenetically on “Sunday Papers,” “Got The Time,”
and “I’m The Man.” It became impossible over the course
of the tour to tell who was having the most fun – the band or
the crowd.
All
in all it was an amazing eleven days. Getting to know Joe, Graham, Gary,
and Dave and working with the crew was both an honor and a pleasure.
I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting many of the fine folks from
the Joe Jackson Discussion Group on the Internet. I had a marvelous
time in the UK and I got a lot of stories to tell my kids. I’d
like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to Joe Jackson, the
band, the crew, Joe’s management, and the crew at Joe's web site
for giving me the opportunity to cover the “Bloody Hell”
tour. Here’s to a great album and world tour in 2003!
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