JESSE MALIN
@ �YORK FIBBERS.�
23/ 1/ 05.
Young Jesse Malin, trading New York for Olde York for one night only! I could hardly contain myself at the prospect, for Jesse is one of the most exciting singer-songwriters to have emerged from New York City in the past few years since the release of his beautiful debut album, �The Fine Art of Self-Destruction.�
Handsome urban poet Jesse had actually played at �Fibbers� once before prior to this gig, but I hadn�t realised until he�d been and gone the last time, so this second time around I could barely wait, having secured a much-sought-after ticket to the sold-out event a few weeks before the gig.
Mixing and matching almost every song from both his aforementioned debut album and his latest record �The Heat,� the gig went down a storm with the crowd merrily singing back many of the songs to him. Some of his gigs consist of a full �band set-up,� but this gig was acoustically orientated, though Christine Smith did accompany Jesse�s exquisite singing voice and lush guitar playing with her incredible talents on the keyboard. Indeed, watching her play with such grace reminded me of the way in which Mike Garson (famed for his work with David Bowie) plays the piano, with such breathtaking finesse and artful ears for life-enhancing melody.
Each of Jesse�s songs is a masterpiece of emotion in itself, and almost all of his work is tinged with an air of heartbreaking melancholia. Clearly influenced by many styles of music over the course of his youth, Jesse actually first started out in his teens in a punk band called D-Generation. These days, his work has the bite of punk and rock �n� roll fighting and frolicking with something of a �Country�-orientated sound, anchored by some superbly catchy melodies and harmonies.
Many of the songs are hopelessly romantic ballads of love, loss, hope and fear that speak to his fans straight and without being cryptic. He wears his heart on his hip sleeve, and boy does he bleed. Whether strumming out his lovely �Brooklyn� tune (that details a magical love affair gone awry in the city that never sleeps but is never afraid to weep) or extolling the virtues of staying in a good old London hotel overlooking Hyde Park courtesy of his upbeat new tune �Hotel Columbia,� Mr. Malin is certainly a natural performer who, over the years, has come to both work with and befriend the likes of Ryan Adams (who produced Jesse�s album as well as playing on both �The Fine Art�� and �The Heat�), Greenday�s Billie Joe, Melissa Auf De Mar and Bruce �The Boss� Springsteen no less. Still, for all his high-profile friends, Jesse deserves to be just as famous for his own work for he is truly an incredibly gifted songwriter, who�s always dying to inject witty anecdotes into his shows, aswell as being bold enough to pray for world peace in his own inspirational style.
At this gig, such �prayer� came in the form of him persuading the entire establishment to sit down for a few moments while he came over the safety barrier to be seated with his fans, leading a poignant rendition of Neil Young�s �Helpless� before surging into a wickedly unexpected cover of Elvis Costello�s infamous �Olivers Army.�
And just because the gig was �acoustic,� that didn�t mean his songs had any less impact on the audience. Performed acoustically, his songs sound even more rousing and real, as tunes such as �Queen of The Underworld,� �Almost Grown,� the fantastic �Mona Lisa� and sublime �Silver Manhattan� told of his life and times both living and growing up in New York City and in the wider, somehow wilder world at large.
Thankfully, Jesse - for one night only - had made it back to York in the UK� and surely nobody who witnessed him sing and play will ever forget his performance. It humbled my soul and stilled my heart, and I can�t wait to see him again - wherever and whenever that may be.
www.jessemalin.com
(Review by Steve Rudd)