Friday, March 26, 2010

We Get Out - Joseph Arthur

Why am I not a better, or at least more frequent, blogger? Let's blame "Old Dog, New Tricks" syndrome. I'm so used to writing Real Journalism Stories - beginning, middle, end, with pauses for researching, transcribing and fact-checking (not that there's anything wrong with that!) that I lose sight of the nature of blogging itself. Just Do It. Say what you're thinking and get out. Instead, I get caught up in all the things I've meant to mention - recent shows, new additions for the O/CD Tally, etc. - that I freeze.

In an effort to break that cycle, I will interrupt myself and proceed to photos of Joseph Arthur, who played at Jammin Java last night.

I didn't see the whole show, as I was there waiting for a call from Grad Girl to pick her up at a nearby Metro station. But what I saw before the taxi whistle blew was good stuff. Arthur records his shows as they happen and sells them - along with an unusual array of merch, like art books and hand-printed shirts - after each show. On stage, he's surrounded by instruments, electronics and art supplies. He sings and plays, and sometimes sets up a loop so that he can sing while he paints (!) or performs spoken word pieces.

It could all be insufferably arty, but he has a laconic sense of humor that takes the edge off.
Since I wasn't going to be there for the end of this show, I picked up a discounted copy ($10 vs. $20) of a previous night from this tour, March 5 at NYC's City Winery. In the brief time I spent listening on the ride home, he did a cool cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey," which makes sense given that (I was told) he was once signed to the Real World label by PG himself.

Arthur's been around a long time, and I've heard good things about him, but our paths hadn't crossed before. The lovely Mei, who tweets as @JamnJavaDoorGal, is a big JA fan and told me I needed to see him live, so thanks to her for the tip (and for letting me in!) The club really is a great place for live music but you don't have to take my work for it. The new City Paper, Best of DC 2010 edition, lists the venue twice in its reader polls - as runner-up for Best Music Venue (the venerable 930 Club was top dog) and as Best Place to See Local Music.

A brief, but fine, night out.

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