Pete Yorn, July 31, 2006, Great American Music Hall
August 11th, 2006 @ 11:43 pmYou and Me Acoustic Tour - 8:00 PM
I have frequently proclaimed that I am too old to go to concerts where I cannot sit down and thus refuse so to do. Sadly, the musicians I want to see live do not agree and insist on playing the various, relatively interchangable, mostly SRO clubs like Slim’s, Bimbo’s, Bottom of the Hill, The Fillmore, The Independent, Cafe Du Nord, and, of course, The Great American Music Hall. (Of note, my favorite current venue is the Swedish-American Hall. So pretty, so full of seats. Unfortunately, a little too intimate for those with big aspirations.)
I had not been to the GAMH since seeing Michelle Branch there just before she broke (in my unintentional Michelle Branch double summer), opening for the sweet, apparently forgotten Evan and Jaron. Unlike my last visit, Pete Yorn was playing to a sold out audience, which meant that the 30 minutes between doors and the show was a tad optimistic. We were all properly packed in like sardines by at least 8:30, but Pete didn’t take the stage until 9. (Possibly he was late due to the in-store accross the Bay? He left long after I did.) This gave me plenty of time to notice that the GAMH has all this very ornate, old-world looking detailing, but upon examination it all kind of really looks a bit cheap and rushed.*
Pete was fantastic. He started off solo acoustic, then invited Dirty Bird Joe Kennedy (who does a mean It Isn’t Easy Being Green) onstage after 4 full-length songs to play piano and provide some backing vocals. Eventually, they were joined by Minibar drummer Malcolm Cross and bass player Sid Jordan, the latter looking far more farmer than drunk rocker than when I saw Minibar last. The mix of new songs, “rare” songs, and new songs was just right. Pete sang Closet, what I think is the best song on musicforthemorningafter, admitting he had no idea what the song was about. Long Way Down, the best song on Day I Forgot made an appearance as well. Those almost make up for me never seeing him play EZ (a request for which was shouted (and not by me)), which he apparently did perform the previous week. He also told the very interesting story that apparently the label didn’t want June on the first album and people hate it, even though it’s one of the quality songs that powers through the strong middle of mftma. He also, because he really just has to now, played Burrito, which is an excellent song when you ignore the entire burrito portion of it.
During the encore, he gave us a little more alone time to start before bringing back the band. Unfortunately, by this time my lack of having had dinner (rushing over from the in-store and all) combined with a late-developing case of claustrouphobia (chiefly caused by the 4′9″ and 4′11″ girls in front of me progressively backing toward me all night until I was effectively penned in), made me start to feel rather sick and I uttered to Matt words I never thought I would at a Pete Yorn show, “Whenever you want to leave, I’m ready to go.” Realizing I must have been really ill to say such a thing, Matt suggested we move to the back. That brilliant idea allowed me to survive the encore - it was far less crowded and the cool air from the open doors was much more breathable. Also, I was in a better position to grab (ok, really, ask Matt in my most pitiful, “I’m sick” voice to grab) a poster for the show from one of the columns. I needed a momento given that Virtuous does ticketless ticketing.
All in all, a great show, worth every penny, and I can only hope that when he comes through again in the fall after Nightcrawler drops on August 29, he plays, oh, let’s say, The Warfield.
Setlist:
PY solo acoustic:
Intro > For Nancy
Hunter Green
Burrito
Life on a Chain
PY & Joe K.:
Lose You
Closet
June
Full Band:
Alive
Pass Me By
Just Another
When You See The Light
Long Way Down
Black
Bandstand in the Sky
For Us
Murray
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths cover)
Ask (The Smiths cover)
Crystal Village
Encore:
PY solo:
Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead cover)
Full Band
Lions
The Good Advice
Strange Condition
Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley cover)
I Feel Good Again (Junior Kimbrough cover)
PY solo:
A Girl Like You
*There was also very nearly a short person revolt in the interim - I still have no idea why clubs are designed so that everyone pays the same, but must strategically position themselves and fight to see who they came to see, and the vertically challenged always get screwed.
