September 24 - Portsmouth

An "At the gig" report by Todd Bishopp

Last night the Joe Jackson band returned to the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth for the second of two sold out shows. The local press called the first show a "triumphant homecoming." Yesterday the word on the streets of Portsmouth was "You should have been at the Wedge last night!"

Gary, Dave, and Graham arrived at the venue at around 5 PM. Dave's hairstyle for tonight's show was traditional Rasta dreadlocks. At 5:15 PM a brief sound check ensued. Things began with a stellar performance of Jimi Hendrix's classic "Little Wing." This ferocious jam had the road crew on their feet, waving their lighters in the air. Brief versions of "Stranger Than Fiction," "One More Time," and "Chrome" concluded the sound check.

Joe's mother and family were in attendance at the previous night's gig. As a practical joke, Graham had put a sign on Joe's music stand that read "Don't Say "Fuck!"" After sound check, Graham and a crew member noticed that the sign was still in the same spot therefore some minor modifications were made to the sign. For tonight, the sign would read "Say "Fuck" Alot!" with "Don't" having an "X" drawn through it. Joe would not see the new sign until midway through the show but more about that later.

The pre-show meal was a festive affair as we enjoyed a wonderful salmon dinner. Graham, Dave, and Gary swapped jokes and stories about previous tours with the crew.

At 8 PM the doors to the Wedgewood Rooms opened and the place was quickly packed with those lucky enough to have a ticket to tonight's show. The show began at 9:35 PM with appropriately enough "One More Time." Two new songs "Awkward Age" and "Take It Like A Man" followed. The classic "Look Sharp!" was next.

Joe introduced the new song "Chrome" by saying "If you know anyone who's hard and shiny...or who became hard and shiny over time...you'll understand this song." Joe then dedicated a raucous version of "Thugs 'R' Us" to all of the people from Paulsgrove. As usual the crowd sang along and actually took over on the last part of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" The band then really got the crowd moving with "On Your Radio." The wonderful ballad "Love At First Light" brought the show to the point where the band took a break and Joe continued on solo for three numbers.

Joe started his solo set with "Be My Number Two" but within a few verses he was quickly besieged by technical difficulties which forced him to stop the song. Once everything was sorted, instead of returning to "Be My Number Two," Joe played "Real Men." At this point, Joe discovered the modified sign for tonight's show. As he laughed, Joe explained to the audience what the sign was about and even held it up for them to see. This was followed by a magnificent cover of David Bowie's "Life On Mars?," a song that Joe said reminds him of Portsmouth. "This is a song that I absolutely have to do here tonight" said Joe as he launched into a stirring rendition of "Home Town."

The band returned to the stage and it was time to rock. "Stranger Than Fiction" was described by Joe as "a rock cha-cha." The band really nailed "Fairy Dust" and "Little Bit Stupid" took the audience back to days of glam rock. Graham's thumping bass was a highlight of "Sunday Papers" and the set ended with a smoking version of "Got The Time."

According to the setlist, the encore should have started with "Different For Girls" but Joe instead returned with a lovely "Be My Number Two" - which he had to abruptly quit earlier in the set. "Be My Number Two" neatly segued into "Different For Girls." The show closed with a spirited take of "I'm The Man."

Each night Joe and the band are rocking louder and harder. The new songs sound like crowd favorites and it's obvious that both the band and the audience are having a helluva lot of fun. The tour now moves to London for a sold out gig at the new Marquee. Check back on Friday for the report and pictures from the show.

Cheers.....

 

Click on an image for a closer view

Set List:
New songs are annotated with "*", Joe solo songs are annotated with "#"

One More Time
Awkward Age *
Take It Like A Man *
Look Sharp!
Chrome *
Thugs 'R' Us *
Is She Really Going Out With Him?
On Your Radio
Love At First Light *
Be My Number Two (technical difficulties ended this quickly) #
Real Men #
Life On Mars? (David Bowie cover) #
Home Town #
Stranger Than Fiction
Fairy Dust *
Little Bit Stupid *
Sunday Papers
Got The Time

Encores:

Be My Number Two/Different For Girls
I'm The Man