Joseph Arthur at Bootleg Theater: If You Missed That Show. . .

February 22, 2011
Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles

Joseph Arthur at Bootleg Theater

When I say I want to be inspired by live music – THIS is what I’m talking about. I want to stay up all night and scream (or write) about how exceptional the show was even though I have a full day of work and meetings, beginning very early in the morning. I want to leave the venue without saying “goodbye” to friends I haven’t seen in a long time, to rush home and write about the experience. I want to buy tickets to the next show before I publish this review because once people read this, if they live anywhere near L.A., they’ll buy tickets to see Joseph Arthur‘s final show of his 4-week residency at Bootleg Theater next week. It will sell out.

Paint on Joseph's Left Hand: Music is Art

If you’ve been reading Rock Is A Girl’s Best Friend for a little while, then you know about my history with Joseph Arthur, which spans more than a decade.  One of my favorite Joseph Arthur memories was several years ago when my friends and I learned Joe was playing a last-minute show, in the small room, at The Knitting Factory.  It was about 4:30 pm and we were sitting at work, looking at each other, until we devised a plan (which didn’t take long).  My friend, Jen, called The Knitting Factory.  “Yeah. . . so we heard Joseph Arthur is playing there tonight. . .  in the small room. . .  Yeah. . .  This may be a dumb question, but are there any tickets left. . . ? And. . .what do we have to do to get them?”

Jen slammed down the phone, “Grab your coats ladies! We need to go to The Knitting Factory right now! They only have 3 tickets left for the show tonight and we need to go get them!”  First of all, imagine getting anywhere – quickly – at 5pm, in LA.  We looked at each other, without hesitation, vowed to come back to work after the show, and sprinted to the car.

We somehow got to the venue while the remaining 3 tickets were available and Joseph Arthur treated us to a brilliant show.  It was special because the venue was exceptionally small and the sound (at that time) was really good.  It was special because there were some technical difficulties. . . which allowed time for Joe to get out his notebook and show us some recent artwork he’d created.  It was special because Joseph Arthur was playing.

Twelve years later, and I still feel that privileged to see Joseph Arthur play.

Building The Song Piece By Piece

What was special about tonight’s show? The paint on Joe’s hands, reminding you that music isn’t just “music” – it’s art.  The way Joseph re-creates songs in front of you, piece by piece, looping percussion, vocals, and guitar, with relaxed precision.  “Relaxed precision” may seem like a contradiction but that’s how he pulls it off.  Watching Joseph paint, not just a picture, but what is to become a central character in the show, while singing.  The look on Joe’s face as he

Painting A Character Into The Show

contemplates and serenades the painting he created while singing the early verses of the same song.  Watching and listening, awestruck, as Joseph reads several pages of spoken word, the words flowing so fluidly, you can’t imagine he’s actually had the time to read them off the page.  The apparent set list written on the back of the poetry – the songs are familiar, but the set is different. . .  it always is. Joe’s sense of humor as he introduces a song, “This song is new. . .  except for countless clips on YouTube.  Oh, the mystique of the music industry.”

Words

The fact that every person who has spoken to me about Bootleg Theater has said what a terrible venue it is;  and that it actually turned out to be quite wonderful.  The way I was greeted at the door by security, with open arms and a smile, and treated with genuine kindness while getting my ticket.  The feeling of gratitude upon remembering that, after a lifetime of seeing shows in LA, some venues truly are home and treat me like family.  And, the realization that after all that time, I can walk into a venue for the first time, and that it too can feel like home.  Walls upon walls of Joseph Arthur’s paintings in the gallery, leading to the music room.  The fact that there is still a music venue that only charges $2 for a bottle of water.

This acoustic rendition of  “In The Sun,” featuring C.c. White and audience sing-a-long. No microphones. Vocal mastery from C.c. White (be sure to watch through the end). A chorus of audience back-up singers – the experience of community and collective passion they contributed is another thing that made the night special:

Not just playing songs; re-creating songs:

“Crying Like A Man”

If you missed that show, you missed that show. It’ll never be the same. That’s Joseph Arthur.

The final show of Joseph’s residency at Bootleg Theater is next Tuesday, March 1.  Tickets

Joseph Arthur at The Stronghold

April 2 & April 9, 2010
The Stronghold, Venice

Joseph Arthur

There’s no end to my love for The Stronghold, and there’s no end to my love for Joseph Arthur.  If Rock Is A Girl’s Best Friend had been around eleven years ago, you would have read a lot of Joseph Arthur reviews by now.  Of all the musicians I’ve seen repeatedly throughout the years, Joseph Arthur may be the only one whose shows in Los Angeles I have not ever missed.

Joseph Arthur Live Painting

Among my many favorite Joseph Arthur memories are the days when he’d come to Los Angeles for a month at a time and play a residency at Largo.  I’d go to every show (as previously stated) and each one was completely unique.  That was nine or ten years ago, when Arthur’s catalog wasn’t nearly as extensive as it is now.  Yet, he managed to make every set feel different – not just a different Joseph Arthur show, but a different experience altogether.  There were times he’d talk about almost mythical, sometimes dark, dreams he’d had the night before.  Other times he would show us recent drawings, or pages of lyrics written in his notebook and then sing us a newly penned song.  He would recreate a song you thought you knew really well (because you had listened to it repeatedly on one of his albums) and you would hardly recognize his live rendition of it at first.  Then, you’d hear the lyrics, and beneath the layers of sound Arthur built in front of you, the through-line of a familiar guitar note or beat.  He’d talk about darkness and fears – sometimes completely introspective; other times, so external that the conversation seemed to take place on another plane of time and space.

Joseph Arthur at The Stronghold

A decade later, a lot has changed, but Arthur’s shows are consistent, and they have evolved.  Instead of holding up a sketch book and showing us his illustrations, Arthur now throws canvases up prior to his set and paints live, while singing. His notebook of new songs has grown exponentially – it takes effort to lift and hold steady while playing and singing.  He still wrestles with fear, although now it’s infused with humor. “I’m gonna put these on now. . . because I’m scared, ” Arthur said with a smile as he put his sunglasses on Friday night.  He still manages to play his songs different every time.  There may be subtle differences in meter or drastic differences in the melody.

Arthur not only plays songs for you, he creates them for you, before you.  He begins with a sound, or a beat, or a chord, then he samples it and loops it.  Then, he adds another sound, beat or chord, and samples and loops that. Then he’ll layer on vocals and more sounds.  The band joins in and Arthur begins to sing, stepping on and off pedals to bring various sounds in and out throughout the song.  You may have seen other musicians do this before, but never like this.  Often, when a musician does this, they recreate the song and all the sounds the same way every time, so that you get a song that sounds like the recoded version, without a big band.  What makes Arthur different is – well, he does it different every time.  I’ve been watching Joseph Arthur create music for eleven years and I have yet to see him play a song the same way twice.  And this is how, and why, I go to every single Joseph Arthur show in the area.

Joseph Arthur is playing Fridays in April, at The Stronghold in Venice. They’re closed this week, but try and hit the last Fridays of the month.  Go more than once, you never know what’s going to happen. . .

Here are some videos from the past two Fridays of Joseph Arthur’s residency.  One thing about The Stronghold is that it feels like a private loft party, where you’re surrounded by a large group of friends, which is really cool.  That said, when you get a large group of friends together at a house party, they talk.  Ordinarily, at a typical music venue, this would annoy me.  But at The Stronghold, you realize it’s just a solid community of great people who enjoy each other and gather around music.  The conversation, laughter, and fact that nobody’s “too cool” to talk to anybody else is one of the best things about The Stronghold.  So the chatter is forgiven in the room, but apologies for some of the background noise in the videos (it tends to die down a minute into each song):