Glide Magazine: Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons Kick Off Portland, Oregon New Year’s Run with Arena-worthy Rock Performance
There are few artists out there who never put on a bad show. This is even more true in our current culture of entitlement where a lack of work ethic doesn’t always translate to good art and performance. Luckily, Jerry Joseph is still working his ass off and doing the damn thing. For over three decades, the grizzled rock and roller has been showing up with no bells and whistles and laying down potent sets of music that balance his immense songwriting talent with even more impressive guitar showmanship. Joseph gets straight down to business and rarely misses a beat, and his diehard fanbase is a testament to this. The annual Portland, Oregon run of shows building up to New Year’s Eve exemplifies the no-bullshit, pure rock and roll approach of Joseph and his band the Jackmormons as they jump venues and deliver memorable sets. On Thursday, December 28th, they kicked off the first of four nights at Dante’s before following it with another show at the same venue and two separate venues each night after.
Joseph’s annual NYE runs often feature his friends and accomplices as guest performers, but he opted to keep it lean for this first show with core Jackmormons Steve Drizos and Stevie James Wright holding down drums and bass. Playing as a trio did not mean the band would hold back their raw power, which was clear from the opening tune of “Buddha Jim” which started with Jerry’s dreamy guitar exploring before transforming into a sprawling ten-minute guitar jam that was somehow humble and flashy. This juxtaposition of moments of quiet tenderness and heavy-duty, guitar-driven rock and roll was a defining theme of this performance. “Sweet Baba Jay” was downright exuberant, followed by Wright laying down a thick bass introduction on the rip-roaring and soulful “Peace In Our Day.” They switched gears into a mellower pace with a cover of Trevor Hall’s “Obsidian” before ratcheting back up with a version of the alt-country-laced “Radio Cab” that bounced right along into the hopeful “You Again.” Steering into the grungy guitar tones of “Chinese Balls,” Joseph solidified his approach of alternating between chugging grooves, mind-bending solos, and impassioned vocals while Drizos and Wright held town an unstoppable rhythm. “Staple Gun” erupted into a fiery blowout while “Late Heavy Bombardment” brought to mind the vulnerable elegance of fellow troubadours like Alejandro Escovedo and “Golden American” was jagged and punchy.
Coming in at the two-hour mark, Joseph and his band once again proved they never put on a bad show. Anybody questioning this fact – not very likely considering the amount of dancing going on – was satiated with one of the most massive songs of the night. “Conscious Contact” unfolded into a sprawling and catchy boogie rocker before morphing into a true dance number as Joseph seamlessly alternated between his preacher-like rapping to the crowd and shredding their faces off. Perhaps more than any other song, this one captured the work ethic and consistency of a Jerry Joseph show as he and his bandmates delivered the kind of performance that felt worthy of an arena yet deeply intimate and soul-connecting.
All photos by Greg Homolka.
Original Article: http://tinyurl.com/3avzvu59
