| Harper Ave. rychard's rants, raves + reviews |
| "The Vynyl" review: jude @ the vynyl - september 10, 2001 (los angeles, ca) (this review was originally posted to the judediscuss list on sept 10, 2001) For those of you following along, there was doubt on whether or not I could get into the 21+ show (I'm 20 years and ten months old) but thankfully due to the lack of top-notch security, I was able to get in! The guy barely looked at my ID (which I seriously contemplated "altering" earlier in the day) Once inside, I was able to buy my very own official copy of KOY (I've had a copy for a few months now, but having the real thing in my hands honestly made me a very giddy boy) I have to say that I have some of the best Jude-luck!! Not only was I able to get into the show, but I was also able to grab a seat (or more accurately, a cushioned block) right up front. If I had brought my recorder I would of had a beautiful version of the show because I was right under a speaker, but I didn't want to risk sneaking in a recorder on top of trying to sneak into the 21+ club. The show began with an opening act...a Sarah McLachlan-Jewel-Sheryl Crow-esque singer by the name of Shannon Moore. Her songs were pretty good, but the only one that really stuck in my head was called "F***ed Up" (can we use profanities on this list, I wonder...? I wouldn't want to corrupt the minds of the young!) Anyway, after signing up for her mailing list, I got a free CD sampler of hers, which did NOT include the aforementioned song. But anyway. Onto Jude: He appeared onstage with his band to open the show with "Prophet." He was wearing a great looking black three-piece suit (Kenneth Cole, perhaps?) with a lime green shirt under the vest. Very cool shoes as well...they sorta looked like the bottom half of a pair of cowboy boots. Seeing as how I didn't record the show, I will try to recall all the songs he performed, in no particular order. There was "Prophet" first...which as I said last time, I'm a real late-bloomer in really loving this song! "Sit-Ups" came next, I'm pretty sure, which rocked as usual. There was also "King Of Yesterday," which if it is performed on Conan tomorrow the way it was tonight, Jude will become a mega-star!! :-) "The Not So Pretty Princess" was also featured, which was a nice surprise because he hasn't played that the last few times I've seen him. "Indian Lover" just kicked ass! (I feel justified in saying "ass" because they say it on network tv so you just know it can't be that bad!) Somewhere in the middle of all this, he took of his suit jacket (to the cheers of all the females in the house) and said he was gonna go full-force with the 70's vibe. With his black pants, black vest, and funky green shirt, he said he was channeling the energy of Three Dogg Night. Funny stuff, there :-) "Everything's Alright" was great. He had the audience singing like a "Countrytime Jamboree" at Disneyland...half of the room sang the "ba ba ba" parts, while the other half sang the guitar's rhythm. Kinda hard to explain, but it was fun all around audience participation. Also, while he was performing "Everything's Alright," I got to thinking about how that song would make a great theme to a TV commercial! I know, I know, that's all sell-out talk and stuff, but even Jude said himself, this is his big pop-sell-out album. And really, why not get him on TV everyday...he could get bigger than Moby! :-) I see the song as a theme to, like, Pepsi or Coca Cola. He also sang "Brad And Suzy," with "Groove Is In The Heart" thrown into the middle for good measure. Then after saying that they needed to catch a plane in about ten minutes, they performed "Rick James" and then left the stage. I have to say, this version of RJ was super-fast, and super-cool! If I was a brave fella, I would have stood up and started dancing! After that, he left the stage, then came back minutes later to go into "I Do." Although I am not a fan of this song, it was a nice version of it. He opened it by saying that a month ago he was being interviewed by Spin Magazine, and the interviewer mentioned how he was a big fan of Jude's, and had all of his CDs, and how he noticed that this was the third time Jude was putting "I Do" onto an album. He asked him if there was a reason for it, or a story behind it. Juse said that he responded, while biting his lip from laughing "You know man, I'm gonna keep putting it on my records until she comes back to me." Pretty funny...although I do remember him telling the same story about FIVE months ago. Ah well, another example of Jude's "creative" storytelling. He closed the show with "On The Dance Floor," which apparently is just called "Dance." During this song, all heck broke loose...people rushed to the front of the stage to dance, and Jude picked two lovely ladies to come up and dance on stage with him. After he left the stage while the band continued to play, practically everyone went up on stage to dance! It was pretty damn cool! I have to say...this was my tenth time seeing Jude live, and though the set was short...it was very sweet, and funky, and rocking, and perfect! All in all...a great show...and a great preview for what all of you non-southern-californians are in for when he comes to your neck of the woods!!!!!! |