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.
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