Joe Jackson

OK. I've got a few posts half-ready, but I often end up missing the moment. Like I still have to write my post about Turandot at the Met HD last week. The longer I leave it, the harder it is to remember why it mattered at the time.

So, while it's still fresh in my mind, a word about Joe Jackson's concert at the Olympia last night. And for those of you who missed his two concerts in Ireland, he's just starting a UK and Europe tour, so, no excuses. Plenty of chances to catch up!

I've been a fan forever. I know the words to all the songs - well, a few words here and there anyway. But I know exactly at what point the music is going to go WHOA and I'm ready to punch in the air and bop along. Well, couldn't exactly do that in the Olympia as my seat was in the Circle, but I had a great view, and no tall man/woman in front of me.

What can I say about Joe Jackson that hasn't been said a thousand times before? That I'm glad I went on my own, because it was LOUD. That he's still got IT, whatever that may be (and he is ten years older than me). That his songs are a lot more romantic than they sound. That when he is on stage, we all feel like we got the cure for gravity. Well, I was floating. Thank you Joe

PS: I didn't take these videos myself, and they might disappear from YouTube soon. Enjoy while you can






And a few words from my favourite: One More Time:

Tell me one more time, as I hold your hand, that you don't love me
Tell me one more time as teardrops start to fall
Shout it to me and I'll shout it to the skies above me
That there was nothing after all

Oh, and one more. He played Big Yellow Taxi, just like at this concert

Joe Jackson in Dublin - A Cure for Gravity

We went to the Joe Jackson concert in the Olympia last night. We had found out about it by pure chance really, in a free magazine we got in a cinema a few weeks ago. I used to get updates about tour dates from the Joe Jackson website, but the emails stopped coming about 6 months ago.

As you know, I'm a big fan. And what a treat it was. This time, it was only Joe, Graham Maby and Dave Houghton on stage - so a simple set of piano, bass and drums. But you can hear they've been playing together forever (as far as I know, well over 25 years).

He covered a good few of the old favourites, like Cancer, Is She Really Going Out With Him?, You Can't Get What You Want, Stepping Out, Chinatown, One More Time, Slow Song, One More Time (my favourite), and a few songs from an upcoming album. To see a list of the set from the Tour, have a look at the Joe Jackson Archive.

He didn't play Awkward Age, which contains some of the wittiest lyrics:

I should have known you were only just fifteen
You had a scowl like a Klingon beauty queen

The seats in the Olympia are extremely cramped, so it's impossible to get up and dance, but I did manage to boogie in my seat. Apologies to whoever was behind me. Thankfully, there was nobody on my right, as the 2 couples sitting beside us found the seats too cramped and went to the back instead.

Joe Jackson is a wonderfully talented musician, and it was a joy to see and hear him playing live. I'm delighted he decided to play in Dublin, despite the smoking ban (he's got a bee in his bonnet about that)

By the way, the picture here is one I picked up from the Joe Jackson Archive website. The ones on the official website are just too ugly.

And in case you didn't know, A Cure for Gravity is the title of Joe Jackson's book, where he describes the feeling of being on stage, when everything is going well, and he feels like he is flying. I think we all shared that feeling last night.