An
"At the gig" report by Todd Bishopp
 Last
night Joe Jackson returned to his hometown of Portsmouth with his original
band to play a show at the Wedgewood Rooms. It was Joe's first show in
Portsmouth in over seven and a half years and it sold out on the first
day tickets were on sale. As the audience filled the Wedgewood Rooms to
its capacity, you could sense that it would be a memorable evening - which
of course, is exactly what it was.
At 9:35 PM, the man
who wrote "Look Sharp!" hit the stage looking sharp indeed -
wearing a fine purple dress shirt and a smart black jacket with white
pinstripes. Drummer Dave Hougton looked great as well as he commemorated
the evening by wearing his hair in pigtails!
The band kicked into
"On Your Radio" and Joe greeted the crowd with "Hello Pompey!"
Next up were two great new songs - "Awkward Age" and "Take
It Like A Man." "Take It Like A Man" was propelled by the
formidable rhythm section of Dave Houghton and bassist Graham Maby.
A fine version of
"Stranger Than You" followed. Guitarist Gary Sanford then tore
into a familar guitar lick, Dave kicked in on drums, and Graham hit us
with that amazing bass line and we were off and running into "Sunday
Papers." Two more new songs followed - the Beatlesque "Still
Alive," which Joe introdouced as being "for anyone who's a survivor,"
and a driving,
rocking number called "Bright Grey." Both of these songs were
making their second ever appearance in the setlist.
The classic "Is
She Really Going Out With Him?" had the audience grooving and singing
along. A beautiful new ballad entitled "Blue Flame" was then
played for only the second time ever. Joe then sacked the band and played
a four song solo set including "Be My Number Two," "Real
Men," a beautiful cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby,"
and a soulful version of "Home Town."
Joe then brought the
band back and a funky new song "Dirty Martini" was followed
by the ferocious new rocker "Fairy Dust." The combination of
the final three songs - "Look Sharp!," Joe's tribute to Glam
Rock - "Little Bit Stupid," and a frenetic "One More Time"
- closed the set by leaving the crowd breathless from pogoing up and down
and passionately singing along.
Wild cheers and applause brought the hometown hero back onto the stage
for a lovely version of "Different For Girls." Joe and the band
then brought the house down with a scorching "I'm The Man" which
proved that Joe Jackson is indeed the man.
It was a truly memorable
evening from beginning to end. All eight of the new songs played were
tremendously received. It's hard to believe that what we're witnessing
are merely warm-up shows. Portsmouth gets another look at this amazing
band at another sold-out show at the Wedgewood Rooms tonight! Check back
tomorrow for another report....
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