Joe Jackson at the Apollo

[Frau_Blucher]

Or, um, should I say Comrade Joe Jackson at the Apollo on 15th and 16th:

http://www.bowerypresents.com/calendar/show/1140/

<img src="http://www.bowerypresents.com/u/i/4/8ac98da7.jpg">

For those wondering which incarnation of Joe this'll likely be, there's actually hope that it might something akin to his original works but minus guitar. Hmmm. From his website:

"The band consists of just Joe on piano and vocals with the rhythm section of the original Joe Jackson Band: Graham Maby on bass and vocals and Dave Houghton on drums and vocals."

[Frau_Blucher]

Apparently, a fairly full-blown tour...

Tue 04/01/08 Toronto, ON Music Hall Theatre

Wed 04/02/08 Montreal, QC Metropolis

Fri 04/04/08 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre

Sat 04/05/08 Northampton, MA Calvin Theater

Mon 04/07/08 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre

Wed 04/09/08 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre

Thu 04/10/08 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Sat 04/12/08 Kingston, NY Ulster Performing Arts Center

Tue 04/15/08 New York, NY Apollo Theater

Wed 04/16/08 New York, NY Town Hall

Sat 04/19/08 Homestead, PA Carnegie Library Music Hall

Sun 04/20/08 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater

Mon 04/21/08 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater

Wed 04/23/08 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre

Thu 04/24/08 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre

Sat 04/26/08 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse

Mon 04/28/08 Austin, TX Paramount Theatre

Tue 04/29/08 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom

Thu 05/01/08 Boulder, CO E-Town @ Boulder Th.

Sun 05/04/08 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre

Mon 05/05/08 Vancouver, BC Chan Centre For The Perf. Arts

Tue 05/06/08 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater

Sat 05/10/08 Redwood City, CA Fox Theatre

Sun 05/11/08 San Diego, CA Humphrey's Concerts By The Bay

Tue 05/13/08 Los Angeles, CA

[DonGately]

New album "Rain" comes out on Jan 29th. Here's the blurb:

"When Joe Jackson went into a Berlin studio with the rhythm section that had accompanied him off and on for nearly three decades (and helped make the classics Look Sharp, I'm the Man and Beat Crazy) he had the most strikingly simple line-up in mind: just piano, bass, drums and his own unmistakable, eternally yearning voice.

With its adventurous spirit and piano-based sound, Rain boasts plenty
of humor, swing and sophistication among barbed social commentary
and even some punk-like rocking out.

Deluxe CD digipack includes 40-min DVD of live performances, interview and a rare look behind-the-scenes. "

One of my favorite Joe Jackson albums in the live "Summer in the City", which boasts a similar line up. So, I'm looking forward to this one.

[DonGately]

Found the presale code online and ordered tickets for the Redwood City show. Thanks for posting the tour info!

[DonGately]

Just got back from the show in Redwood City. Really great gig. Piano, Bass, and Drums only. Lots of new arrangements, improvosation, and the songs from Rain kicked serious ass. Highlights include:

- Joe starting the set solo perfoming "Be My Number Two".

- A very nice reworking of "Cancer" with a great piano solo. This was paired with "King Pleasure Time".

- A drum n bass version of "You Can't Get What You Want" - literally, the piano medley was introduced only at the very end of the tune. The rest of the tune was bass, drum, with Joe on shaker.

- Fantastic covers of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Abba) and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" (Duke Ellington). When introducing the Abba tune, Jackson said "This is not a cool song, but we've found a way to make it cool".

- A reworked "Steppin' Out" going into "Invisible Man".

- "Is She Really Going Out With Him" was a lot of fun, with the entire crowd singing along.

- A beautiful version of "Solo" and rolicking take on "Uptown Train".

There were other hits sprinkled in, including "One More Time", or as my wife called it, "The Taco Bell Song".

The Fox Theater in Redwood City has great sound. The seats are old, but supposedly, they are putting in new ones. If you're in the Bay Area, it's a great place to see a gig.

[bigwavedave]

I caught the Seattle show last week; it was also a great show. A few differences:

- They opened with Steppin' Out.
- The other cover besides Abba was a Frank Zappa tune.

Highlights for me included the fact that he dug deep into songs from "Night and Day" (Steppin' Out, Chinatown, Cancer, A Slow Song). Also, they did killer versions of "On Your Radio", "One More Time" and "It's Different For Girls" from the early albums. The crowd also sang most of the lyrics for him on "Is She Really Going Out With Him", and it sounded great.