May 23, 1979 review: Joe Jackson at Stage One

 

Another one of those fabulous nights at Stage One.

May 23, 1979 

Jackson Show Energetic Romp

Joe Jackson wore his white shoes Tuesday night at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One in Clarence and looked sharp all the way.

         The newly-emerging British singer-songwriter rocked the jam-packed club for an hour and left the crowd chanting: “Joe, Joe, Joe.” Among the onlookers were at least two members of Supertramp, who stayed over after their sellout show Monday in Memorial Auditorium.

         Jackson cut the figure of a small-time mobster out for a time on the town – gray flannel coat buttoned over a striped shirt and polka-dot tie – an outfit emulated by contestants in a dress-up competition.

         His performance was all urgency. His face contorted around his lips and teeth. His short blond hair stood on end when he ran his fingers back through it. His arms shot out at awkward angles.

         Jackson unloaded most of the songs on his debut album, “Look Sharp!,” in a ragged-edged voice while his guitar-bass-drums trio strained to burst through their short, snappy arrangements.

         Jackson himself ducked back to Fender Rhodes piano for an occasional vamp, including a verse of “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries.” He also accompanied one number on the melodica, a keyboard-type harmonica that he described as “the instrument of the ‘80s.”

         For “Sunday Papers,” he produced a copy of England’s News of the World, which he picked up in Toronto the night before, and attacked it with scissors after reading salacious sections of stories entitled: “Exclusive: My Life With the AA Monster” and “Black Magic Ordeal of Girl in Swami’s Temple.”

         Jackson’s set was plagued by feedback and hum, which he cured by cursing it. He did the same with catcallers.

         Ultimately, he set down one heckler by saying: “If you don’t shut up, you’re going to go out of here as ignorant as you came in.”

         For all Jackson’s energy and asides, his stylings stayed well within the limits of the Second British Invasion. There were many whiffs of bright, brash mid ‘60s British rock and an occasional hint of Elvis Costello. “Happy Loving Couples,” for instance, recalled Costello’s “Miracle Man.”

         The crowd sang along with his radio hit, “Are You Really Going Out With Him,” and listened appreciatively to a new number called “It’s Different for Girls.”

         For his two-song encore, he reached for two touchstones of the Second British Invasion – reggae with Toots and the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop” and ‘50s rock with “Ain’t That a Shame.”

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Joe Jackson backstage in Denver on May 6, 1979.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: After his great debut, Joe Jackson turned his stylistic interests away from New Wave once his band broke up at the end of 1980. He dipped into old-style swing with "Jumpin' Jive" in 1981 and lounge moods with "Night and Day" in 1982. He won a Grammy for his classical album, "Symphony No. 1," in 1999, then reunited his original band. He's been touring and recording regularly through the past two decades. In fact, he's on tour now.

Setlist.fm has no setlist from Joe Jackson’s Stage One date, but it had to be more or less like what he did three nights later at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, Mass.:

One More Time

Look Sharp!

Friday

(Do the) Instant Mash

Sunday Papers/Baby Stick Around

Fools in Love

Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Happy Loving Couples

I'm the Man

Throw It Away

Got the Time

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Pressure Drop

Ain't That a Shame

         Unmentioned as opener was the Buffalo band Cock Robin.