Joe Pernice at the Union Chapel
Joe Pernice
Astrid Williamson
Union Chapel, 26 January 2010
So to my first gig of 2010. I don't know if it's a coincidence or someone is trying to tell me something but my first gig last year was also at the Union Chapel. Maybe I need to go to church more, you know, when rock music isn't the main draw. Anyway, after settling into non-gigging ways it felt strange wandering off to a show for the first time in a month and a half. Thankfully because it was in a church it was a seated, subdued affair, helping to ease me back into the swing of things.
When I first arrived though it was even more subdued than I expected and was positively empty to begin with, despite arriving about 40 minutes after the doors opened. I easily got a great seat and before long a pretty, blonde Scottish lady wearing a striking sequinned top emerged and introduced herself as Astrid Williamson. I must admit I had never heard of her before but she was definitely worth catching. Playing piano the entire set (which she said she didn't normally do, she usually played the guitar but had lent her acoustic to Joe Pernice for the night) the best song was the opening number, a lengthy folk-tinged tale that seemed to go off into unexpected places. Apparently it's from her up coming album and she was trying it out. Nothing else touched that song but overall she reminded me a little of a less kooky Tori Amos. I would have liked to have heard her play a few songs on the guitar though, just for a little contrast.
Not long after the bearded Joe Pernice quietly walked on stage and began setting up his equipment. For many, it wasn't until he said hello into the microphone that they even realised he was there. Thankfully by this point the crowd had filled out and the entire Joe Pernice congregation was there and ready. I've never seen Pernice live before, I arrived too late to his music to catch his former band the Pernice Brothers play any gigs sadly and ideally I would have loved to have seen him with an electric guitar and a drummer rocking up the Pernice Brothers' unique brand of indie meets power pop and country. But thankfully, because all the songs are so strong, they worked well in an acoustic setting and Pernice began by treating us to some older numbers (beginning with Overcome With Happiness track Chicken Wire) before trying out some new material from his forthcoming album apparently called Goodbye Killer (great title). Between these he told us tales of being raised Catholic ("I don't think I've worn a tie since then, well aside from my wedding"), his three-year-old son claiming songs he's written as his own ("I considered putting him as a co-writer on all my songs to extend the copyright but then I thought, what if he gets to 18 and sells the lot?"), living in Canada ("I can't believe I'm living in Canada - I'm such an American!") and his mom disapproving of druggy lyrics ("She said 'I don't think that's gonna be a hit, Joe', yeah like all my other songs, mom!")
My favourite part of the show though came when he performed a number of covers from the accompanying EP to his first novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop. I haven't read it (yet!) but he explained that a number of songs appear throughout the book and he thought why not record them? He didn't perform them all but bringing up a guitarist to help him out, he played a spirited version of Del Shannon's I Go To Pieces, the James and Bobby Purify soul classic I'm Your Puppet and most amusingly a 70s country-pop hit, which I didn't know, called Chevy Van, a song about picking up a beautiful hitchhiker and "makin' lurve" in the back of the van. I have to admit I liked it a lot despite the corny lyrics.
After this he returned to his own catalogue taking us way back to his first band, the Scud Mountain Boys and telling us of his first British tour experience when their record label Sub Pop ill-advisedly booked them on the Camden Crawl and they completely bombed. Thankfully the next night at the Powerhaus (I can't even remember the last time I saw a band booked to play there!), despite having two hefty-looking, scary guys at the front, they began playing Oklahoma and all turned out well. Pernice followed this story by treating us to an acoustic rendition of said song, still sounding great and ready to convert non-believers all these years on.
Although he didn't play two of my favourites (Clear Spot and The Weakest Shade Of Blue), we did get some of the Pernices best songs such as Grudge Fuck (which he apologised for playing in a church), Somerville and the gorgeous Amazing Glow, so I didn't feel too let down and the new songs (especially one called I Love The Stage) sounded great.
A lovely evening full of funny stories and beautiful music but I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Pernice plugged in and electric next time.
When I first arrived though it was even more subdued than I expected and was positively empty to begin with, despite arriving about 40 minutes after the doors opened. I easily got a great seat and before long a pretty, blonde Scottish lady wearing a striking sequinned top emerged and introduced herself as Astrid Williamson. I must admit I had never heard of her before but she was definitely worth catching. Playing piano the entire set (which she said she didn't normally do, she usually played the guitar but had lent her acoustic to Joe Pernice for the night) the best song was the opening number, a lengthy folk-tinged tale that seemed to go off into unexpected places. Apparently it's from her up coming album and she was trying it out. Nothing else touched that song but overall she reminded me a little of a less kooky Tori Amos. I would have liked to have heard her play a few songs on the guitar though, just for a little contrast.
Not long after the bearded Joe Pernice quietly walked on stage and began setting up his equipment. For many, it wasn't until he said hello into the microphone that they even realised he was there. Thankfully by this point the crowd had filled out and the entire Joe Pernice congregation was there and ready. I've never seen Pernice live before, I arrived too late to his music to catch his former band the Pernice Brothers play any gigs sadly and ideally I would have loved to have seen him with an electric guitar and a drummer rocking up the Pernice Brothers' unique brand of indie meets power pop and country. But thankfully, because all the songs are so strong, they worked well in an acoustic setting and Pernice began by treating us to some older numbers (beginning with Overcome With Happiness track Chicken Wire) before trying out some new material from his forthcoming album apparently called Goodbye Killer (great title). Between these he told us tales of being raised Catholic ("I don't think I've worn a tie since then, well aside from my wedding"), his three-year-old son claiming songs he's written as his own ("I considered putting him as a co-writer on all my songs to extend the copyright but then I thought, what if he gets to 18 and sells the lot?"), living in Canada ("I can't believe I'm living in Canada - I'm such an American!") and his mom disapproving of druggy lyrics ("She said 'I don't think that's gonna be a hit, Joe', yeah like all my other songs, mom!")
My favourite part of the show though came when he performed a number of covers from the accompanying EP to his first novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop. I haven't read it (yet!) but he explained that a number of songs appear throughout the book and he thought why not record them? He didn't perform them all but bringing up a guitarist to help him out, he played a spirited version of Del Shannon's I Go To Pieces, the James and Bobby Purify soul classic I'm Your Puppet and most amusingly a 70s country-pop hit, which I didn't know, called Chevy Van, a song about picking up a beautiful hitchhiker and "makin' lurve" in the back of the van. I have to admit I liked it a lot despite the corny lyrics.
After this he returned to his own catalogue taking us way back to his first band, the Scud Mountain Boys and telling us of his first British tour experience when their record label Sub Pop ill-advisedly booked them on the Camden Crawl and they completely bombed. Thankfully the next night at the Powerhaus (I can't even remember the last time I saw a band booked to play there!), despite having two hefty-looking, scary guys at the front, they began playing Oklahoma and all turned out well. Pernice followed this story by treating us to an acoustic rendition of said song, still sounding great and ready to convert non-believers all these years on.
Although he didn't play two of my favourites (Clear Spot and The Weakest Shade Of Blue), we did get some of the Pernices best songs such as Grudge Fuck (which he apologised for playing in a church), Somerville and the gorgeous Amazing Glow, so I didn't feel too let down and the new songs (especially one called I Love The Stage) sounded great.
A lovely evening full of funny stories and beautiful music but I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Pernice plugged in and electric next time.
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