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• 09/17/03: Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
• 03/07/05: Handelsbeurs, Gent (BE)

Josh Rouse (USA)

09/17/03

Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)

Set List:

Comeback (Light Therapy) / 1972 / Under Cold Blue Stars / Nothing Gives Me Pleasure / Dirty Work / Love Vibration / Miracle / James / ???? / Ugly Stories / Feeling No Pain / Laughter / Slaveship / Directions // 1st encore: Flair / Marvin Gaye / Flight Attendant // 2nd encore: Late Night Conversation

Line-up:

Josh Rouse – vocals, guitar, groovy costume; James Haggerty – bass; Curt Perkins – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals; Daniel Tashian – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals; Mark Pisapia – drums, backing vocals

At first, I was quite disappointed when they announced on Josh Rouse’s site that Josh and the band weren’t going to visit Belgium during the 1972-tour, since the previous two shows in Brussels (supporting the releases of Home and Under Cold Blue Stars respectively) had been excellent, and Amsterdam is a few hours driving from Brussels. On the other hand, we suddenly realized that we had a week off, so we decided we could go to Amsterdam after all, as it was an opportunity to check out the legendary location (Paradiso) as well. After having spent a nice day in Amsterdam (I’ve never seen that many bikes in my entire life – damn, people are healthy and fit over there!), we finally wound up in front of the Paradiso to find out it wasn’t open yet, and that there were only a handful of people hanging around. Once we were in, we realized pretty fast that it would probably be a quiet night. Luckily the people that were there knew they were getting a good show and reacted appropriately (you can always count on the Dutch for being noisy). The band immediately kicked off with a funky version of “Comeback.” Overall the sound was pretty good – the only ‘complaint’ I had was that Rouse’s playing (who was wearing the same groovy outfit as during the “Love Vibration”-clip, by the way) was sometimes barely audible, but that’s probably due to the fact he’s not a dirty rocker to begin with and that most of the solo stuff was delivered by either Curt Perkins or Daniel Tashian. Anyway, the gig was a fine counterpart to the stylish latest album, from which more than half of the songs were played, primarily mixed with songs from the previous Under Cold Blue Stars. The excellent single “Love Vibration” was appropriately catchy and breezy, the cover of Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” was an immense, sweet surprise and the falsetto vocals during “James” worked particularly well. After that highlight, Josh and the band continued with another cover of what must have been a Marvin Gaye-song, during which Rouse proved himself to be a fully fledged soul vocalist. “Ugly Stories” represented the more introvert Rouse persona and was one of the few ballads they performed that night. The show ended with the terrific hat-trick of “Laughter,” the brilliant opener of Home; “Slaveship,” which was brought in a very spirited – dare I say punk? – version, and finally the man’s contribution to the Top 5 of the Best Pop Songs of the New Millennium, “Directions.”

That was the end, but the crowd yelled for more and Rouse came back alone, with his acoustic guitar, to perform a touching version of “Flair,” the first song to be taken from his debut. After that, the band joined him for the infectious “Marvin Gaye,” during which several people in the crowd moved up to the front of the stage to shake their booties, and the band even topped it with a grand version of “Flight Attendant,” for my money the highlight of the entire evening. Although they were only there in small numbers, the audience did produce a lot of noise and I think the musicians were afraid they’d get beaten up if they didn’t return once more. “Late Night Conversation,” another ‘oldie,’ was the final dessert. All in all, a damn fine gig, with a nice, relaxed atmosphere – both on and before the stage – good performances from each member and a good sound quality (apart from a few minor ‘problems’ during “Laughter”). With his latest album, Josh Rouse has shown that he improved on the already excellent Under Cold Blue Stars and it was really enjoyable to watch him pull it off on stage as well, with flair, confidence and lots of soul.

Note: the panties that were sold with the 1972-logo on them were a great idea.

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Erin McKeown (USA) / Josh Rouse (USA)

03/07/05
Handelsbeurs, Gent

Josh Rouse Set List: It's the Nighttime / My Love Has Gone / Winter in the Hamptons / Comeback (Light Therapy) / 1972 / Miracle / James / Sunshine (Come on Lady) / Love Vibration / Rise / Dressed Up Like Nebraska / Directions / Streetlights / Sad Eyes // Saturday / Afraid to Fail / Slaveship

It's a long way to the top, but we're getting there.

Teitur (a singer-songwriter from the Faroe Islands) was also supposed to support Rouse, but he fell sick so we got only Erin McKeown instead. And picking her was a great idea, as it's been a while since I've been this charmed by a supporting act. While not yet a success-act, McKeown has already received some rave reviews and appeared on the Nip/Tuck-soundtrack, and God knows how many people watch series like that. Her set was rather short (6 or 7 songs?) but she offered more than enough to convince me of her skills as a singer, musician ànd songwriter. I have no idea what her albums (2000's Distillation and 2003's Grand) are like in terms of sound and arrangements, but what I saw on stage was a youthful, energetic version of Suzanne Vega (her voice is somewhat similar) or perhaps Ani DiFranco (the very rhythmic, almost "percussive" guitar style). While somebody jokingly told me they must've chosen the petite McKeown because she'd be a nice physical match for the equally tiny Rouse, her material certainly deserves deeper inspection (yes, I'll be gettin' those albums), as her songs managed to display a whole array of styles and emotions: "James" managed to walk the thin line between melancholy and playfulness while "Born to Hum" was a hilarious tactic to counter writer's block (and it featured some nifty fingerpickin'). Throughout her performance, she managed to keep the audience's attention with funny comments, compliments (telling people they clap better than in France always does the job) and some insight into her music (and fascination with Judy Garland). The set ended with an 'older' song - "Blackbirds" - that served as a nice summary of her set: funny, infectious, original and excellent played - it bordered on minimalist rock 'n' roll.

It seems that things are growing into different proportions for Josh Rouse lately. While I've seen him play in front of increasingly bigger crowds over the past five years, he never made a leap as big as this year's. Several songs off of Nashville received airplay on national radio, he got to perform at a popular show on national TV and suddenly everybody with a passing interest in music seems to have heard of the guy. The venue was filled with at least twice as many people as the previous time I saw him, and they were LOUD, cheering in anticipation and treating Rouse with the reverence that's usually only shown by giggling girls in awe of some shitty boys-band. But that's cool! If there's been any singer-songwriter that has been releasing consistently pleasing material the past few years, it's Josh Rouse and the fact that his music has become more accessible (not that it ever resembled avant-garde messiness) certainly adds to that. 1972 was a slick & mellow blast that was an improvement over the already impressive Under Cold Blue Stars and the recently released Nashville builds upon that foundation with hooks and instantly memorable melodies galore. Even though he has never been one to rely on older favourites, he seems to feel completely comfortable with his current direction, as 13 out of the 17 songs were picked from the last two albums (7 from 1972, six from Nashville). The first few songs were hampered by a mediocre sound (which never really became entirely pleasing) and uneven balance that prevented it from becoming wholly cohesive, but it still was admirable that he dared to kick off with some of his best material. "My Love Has Gone" and "Winter in the Hamptons" are simply world-class songs that any songwriter would be proud of, and when they're followed by 1972's fantastic "Comeback," you know it's ear-candy time. Rouse was his usual self - a bit more introvert and restrained than his boyish look suggests - and his voice sounded a bit tired once in a while (he sung "Miracle" in a lower register than usual, although he managed to reach the falsetto during "James"). Because of the so-so sound, a song like "Love Vibration" (a single that's so much unconditional fun you almost wonder whether he was fooling everyone) wasn't exactly the party-anthem it could've been, but in return you got a few songs that actually eclipsed their studio counterparts ("Streetlights" and - especially - "Rise"). Even though he's still quite young, he's managed to create a catalogue that's already imposing; kicking off with songs like that, throwing in gems like "Directions" (still one of the best pieces of power-pop of this century) and ending the set with the two-parted "Sad Eyes." The band played like a well-oiled machine (with Curt Perkins switching from organ to guitar and back, Marc Pisapia and James "Hags" Haggerty keeping up the groove and Daniel Tashian adding tasteful guitar parts) and Rouse's confidence was obvious. Sometimes I wish he'd show more of 'the Josh Rouse behind the musician' (he always limits himself to polite smiles and thank yous), even though the songs already speak for themselves. "Afraid to Fail" (from 2000's Home) was an unexpected but nice encore, while the show ended with the irresistible bounce of "Slaveship." Those who've seen him before didn't get to see anything they didn't already know, but that's okay, since Rouse has never disappointed, while in the process (judging by the volume levels in between the songs), he also made quite some new fans. And lots of fans is exactly what he deserves.

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