Jon Brion was in town this week for three shows at the Canal Room. He has a weekly gig at Largo in LA, and frequently has guest performers/friends join him onstage for what always turn out to be unforgettable shows. He released an album in 2001, "Meaningless," but mostly produces for artists whose names you are much more familiar with (Aimee Mann, Kanye West, Fiona Apple). He also has put together the soundtracks for most of PT Anderson's recent films, such as I Heart Huckabees and Magnolia.
I came across this interview from Guitar Player a few days before I saw his show and wanted to post it because it was a pretty good read and he makes some really nice points about music and creativity and passion. I'm pasting my favorite bit of the article here, where Jon says that everything you need is here, just waiting to be juxtaposed and re-discovered:
Juxtaposition is what makes creative things interesting. I like pitting one element against another, or taking something that would not normally appear in rock music and drag it into a three-minute pop song. So if you want to sound different, go out and buy a bunch of records that have nothing to do with the type of music you’re playing—even if you hate it....You see, nothing comes from Mars, and everything is here to be discovered if you look in the right places...
So read the whole interview and tell me what you think.
Tuesday's show at the Canal Room was even better than the last time I saw him, over the summer at Tonic. You can read about that show here and get some songs and video too. Brooklynvegan has a nice set of pictures from the early show, as well as links to more reviews here.
The easiest way to describe Jon Brion might be "musical genius," or "musical virtuoso," but the best way to gain an idea of what that means is to listen to his own music, listen to the albums he produces for others, and finally to see him perform live (if you happen to be lucky enough to catch him in new york). His shows sell out fast and if you aren't looking out for him coming he's easy to miss. But once you do start looking for him you'll notice that there is a gigantic and quiet following that he has amassed and they jump at the chance to see him live. And if they don't live in LA or within driving distance of Largo then his weekly two-set shows there seem to take on an almost mecca-like quality as a religious pilgimage destination.
But all Hyperbole aside, he is a great musician and songwriter. Watching him live really brings a smile to your face and makes you feel like you're witnessing a truly great creative mind at work. Discussing the show with a friend the next day I related the feeling I had during a particular song. Jon takes requests througout the show and decided to play "Sexy Sadie," after someone yelled it out. But he sat down at the piano and said it would be "Sexy Sadie as played by Thelonius Monk," and then proceeded to do just that. And it was great. But while I watched him I realized that unless you're there, right there in the audience watching it, it will never have the same impact as just hearing about it and you'll never ever get someone how great it was. To say that the show was great because he played a Beatles song as a Thelonius Monk song doesn't sound cool. But thats live music I guess, and thats why I'm not going to try and describe the show to you. Let me just say, it was fucking FABUL-A-TASTIC-NARY. And that is why I hope that he will be back in NYC soon.
Some other great moments from the show:
- Roxanne, by the Police, played as a baroque classical piece, sung through a vocoder, turned into an audience sing-a-long.
- Waterloo Sunset, by the Kinks, with three part harmony supplied by the audience.
- Rhett Miller, from the Old 97's joined him onstage for a few songs, including Rollerskate Skinny and Singular Girl
Before the last song Jon explained he was in town to play at a tribute for Les Paul and had put together his own shows on the fly. But talked about what an influence Les Paul is and how pioneering he was in layering live and then proceeded to play Purple Rain, as played by Les Paul, in the style of a 1950s rock 'n roll ballad. Like I said, I wish you had been there to see it.
.judah
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