"So he's no Dylan?" my Dad asked.
"Uh, well, he's pretty good with words" I replied.
I've been on about this for a while - I'm a little bit embarrassed that I like Jack Johnson. The 16,000 people in attendance would probably feel irked by that comment.
It was undeniable, Johnson had complete control of the audience. Everyone, myself included, were captivated by his talent, presence and ease.
If you've been keeping up to date with this blog (I won't hold it against you if you haven't), then it is safe to say you know of the exact moment that I realised that it wasn't 'cool' to like Johnson. I was with a new friend when Johnson came up and he told me about how his roommate does the best impression of him. Which rubbed off on me more like a Jimmy Buffett impression - easy, tropical ukelele sound with floppy lyrics. I can laugh at that now in retrospect with all things considered, it was actually a good impression, even though at the time I took serious offense.
I had a wry feeling even on the streetcar to the show. The car was filled with beautiful, young twentysomething girls pumped for their expensive beer and Johnson tunes. Some even took the liberty of serenading the entire streetcar.
I got to the gig pretty early, ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) was about half way through their set. I had seen them once before, five years ago at the previous Johnson concert I saw. The only song I really took with me was "Girl I Wanna Lay You Down" - a song that compares a woman to the smooth and creaminess of peanut butter.
G. Love was up next. I was most excited to see G. Love in action. I felt his short set really didn't do justice. His sound really doesn't carry well at this venue and I think he even acknowledged that in making shout outs to the venues he had played in the city before... "Have ya'll been to the Opera House? Yeah, good times had there..." or something along those lines. It was just G. Love, alone on the stage with his guitar and an attached harmonica. His sound was full but it came off messy in such a large, open venue. My Dad said one of his songs reminded him of a particular song by the Band.
Johnson came on quite a bit later. The sun was setting at this point, it was around 9pm. He opened up with a couple of new tunes. I am a little fuzzy because Johnson has more or less fell off my radar in the last four years. After the Curious George children's album he lost my vote of confidence. Since then he has released two albums, that are pretty unknown to me.
He played a great chunk off of the two new discs. I found myself taken by the new music for every reason I like Johnson - ease, clarity and flirty lyrics. I have no desire to run out and get these albums, but I wouldn't turn it off if it was playing on the radio.
I however, much preferred hearing the familiar. He dug deep into the three older albums which now are over five years old! Loved hearing classics like "Flake," "Bubble Toes," "Banana Pancakes," and his always closer "Better When We're Together". The one tune I wish I had heard him play was "Inaudible Melodies".
I especially loved his slip in "Bubble Toes" - he busted out the second verse when the first was to come. He said how embarrassing it was to make this mistake. The audience went nuts for his humanity.
Johnson was stunning live, he kept the chatting down low until the very end for the encore. He came back alone at the very end and talked a bunch to the audience. He mentioned how a couple of fans ran into him when he was leaving somewhere with his wife. The girls asked him if that's who the tune "Bubble Toes" was written about. Johnson replied, "this is the woman I write all my songs about!" The girls asked how long he'd been with her for, and he replied "since 1993!" The girls said in return "That's when I was born". Johnson proudly said before singing "Do You Remember" that the lyrics read "over ten years has gone by..." (in response to how long he's been married) At the show he said, "In reality it's seventeen years." He won the audience over with his sincerity and good, clean image.
G. Love did so to earlier when he made an I love you shout out to his girlfriend who surprise visited him in Toronto earlier today.
Speaking of G. Love, I was really amazed by his bits in Johnson's set. He came out to sing "Rodeo Clowns," which was perfect with his subtle vocal contributions.
Music abilities aside, these guys defnitely have heart. I think that's why I like his music, it's honest. I like honesty.
I said to my Dad at the beginning of the show that Jack Johnson was probably one of those people who are good at everything. University of California grad, professional surfer and beach ballad superstar.
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