Review:
'ARTHUR, JOSEPH'
'London, Shepherd's Bush Empire, 24th Feb 2006'
- Genre: 'Rock'
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Our Rating:
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Oh man, it was cold, it was windy, I’d lost my gloves, and my fingers (and other assorted extremities) were about to fall off.
On arriving at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, in desperate need of a hot chocolate or a whiskey or something, I was shunted up to the highest possible level of the theatre. For those who aren’t familiar with this venue, that would be right at the back of the top tier, approximately 4000 ft above sea level. And it was probably about the same temperature as say the top of Mount Everest. Did I mention that I’d lost my gloves?
Miles down, on the apparently microscopic stage, you could make out a gigantic easel, two microphone stands, and a couple of Men At Work signs. No drum kit, no band equipment, just room enough for one. All this I saw through the mist of condensation that my breath was making in the sub-zero temperatures. It begged the question,would this solo performance be strong enough to span the distance between JOSEPH ARTHUR on the stage,and me, sat
practically in outer space?
The support act, JEFF KLEIN, took to the stage. The room filled with swirling blue lights, and I got the distinct impression that I was looking down into an aquarium. Klein cleverly used samplers and his guitar (as a percussive as well as melodic instrument) to construct intricate and passionate songs, with appropriate beeping noises adding an SFA/Space Odyssey feel to the ambience. Klein brought to mind the music of Ryan Adams. Well, if nothing else he had the same haircut. At least I thought he did, I didn’t have my binoculars so I couldn’t be sure.
However, if Klein’s music was the aperitif, then Joseph Arthur was truly the piece de resistance. I’m not just talking his wonderful, sublime music (which I could gorge on to beyond bursting point), but the striking light show, his on-stage live painting, his general beneficent affect, a mid-set costume change, and his generous serving of no less than three encores.
As he came to the stage, he quickly sketched an outline of a drawing on the canvas, later to be painted over, before taking centre stage and standing in the middle of the blue and white fairy lights scattered on the floor, woven vine-like in and out of his equipment. Again, Jo Arthur worked on using minimal instruments with clever samplers and effects in order to create an orchestral sound, filling the room to such an extent that I forgot that I was sat watching from a galaxy far, far away, and I could no longer feel my feet.
The entire stage was flushed with vivid red light, and the blue and white fairy lights were glittering, almost like pins and needles, all flashing in time and against his frenetic, angry music. Meanwhile, Jo Arthur was dashing between various instruments and gadgets, building his songs like a mad scientist going berserk in laboratory – making backing tracks with drums, bass, riffs, and backing vocals, by virtue of being a great musician and genius whiz-kid on the samplers.
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There were two highlights for me during this performance. First was his delicate, acoustic version of his single “Even Tho”, which was so moving, and completely in contrast to the rest of his set which was ear-bleedingly loud, that I’d be lying if I said I didn’t well up towards the end. It was evidently very personal; I don’t know who he was singing it for or about, but I’m certainly jealous of them and wouldn’t mind being in their shoes for a while.
The other highlight - and this is something Jo Arthur is renowned for - was the beatnik painting sprees that he conducts whilst performing. I was sceptical at first, it sounded like it could wander beyond the realms of common decency into deep self-indulgence and pretension. However, this was absolutely not the case.
As he assembled a very slow, sensual melody, the lights dimmed to purple and dark blue, and he started singing in a really seductive, bluesy tone. The level of anticipation in the audience was palpable, and the experience of watching him create not only the picture, but the song, verged on the erotic. Obviously I couldn’t see the fine detail of the work, but it didn’t matter. We were all made to feel like voyeurs and the experience was thrilling.
One of his final songs was the heart rendering “You’ve Been Loved”, which was sung with such sincerity that it was hard not to choke back the tears. I must sound like a right old pansy, but the sheer force of his talent, creativity, and charisma produced one of the most intense, sensual, and amazing acts I’ve seen in a very long time.
Hand on my heart, cold feet and altitude sickness aside, it’s going to take some doing to top this performance. Moreover, the people I was sat with told me how they had travelled all the way from Paris just to see his performance. I think that says it all really.
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author: Sian Owen
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READERS COMMENTS
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Absolutley, he is certainly not a live act to be missed. Personally, my favourite parts were where he stripped his tracks that are normally very produced down to solo acoustic- such as 'Even Tho' as you mentioned and also 'Honey and The Moon,' his opener, which also has that beautiful, emotive effect you describe.
------------- Author: RoisinHan
03 March 2006
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