Joseph Arthur

[brownie]

*bump*

 

I was at his show at Maxwells last summer and it was a revelation. I didn't recognize a lot of the songs at the time, but many eventually turned up on Temporary People.

 

I'd seen Joe only once before (also at Maxwells) and it was awful. *laughs* I think it was in the midst of some hard-rock/noise phase - totally not the Joseph Arthur I'd come to love.

 

So I went last year not expecting a heck of a lot, but left enthralled - particularly with a song I did not know at the time, but turned out to be the song Drive on Temporary People...And I got to keep a memory of my experience! - he was selling copies of the show if you hung around afterwards and he would chat to you a bit and draw a bit of artwork on your CD.

 

So it's been a year, and I'm going to see him tonight at the 2nd of a 3 show residency he's doing in NYC over late Aug./Sept. Hoping for a repeat of the extraordinary experience I had last summer.

 

Hoping very much that it's just Joe and his guitar again like last year because that was definitely a mind-blowing show and I'm anxious to repeat it! (or as near to repeating it as is possible)

[HungryHippo]

Nuclear Daydream has just been rereleased (3rd time now?) over in Europe. but, the catch is, its now on 180g vinyl and features bonus tracks from the album's sessions! check it out.

 

Track listing:

1. Too Much to Hide

2. Black Lexus

3. Enough To Get Away

4. Slide Away

5. Electrical Storm

6. You Are Free

7. Automatic Situation

8. When I Was Running Out of Time

9. Don't Tell Your Eyes

10. Don't Give Up On People

11. Woman

12. Nuclear Daydream

13. Can't Let You Stay [bonus track]

14. Moon In The Skull (Long Way Down) [bonus track]

15. Flashing Lights And Cockfights [bonus track]

16. My Eyes Follow You [bonus track]

17. I Love You [bonus track]

18. Hard To See [bonus track]

[rareair]

i saw him on tuesday night at the bluebird in nashville. it was a great show. he sounded excellent.

 

the looping for me never gets old especially in such an intimate setting. i saw him open for wilco at the orange peel several years ago and remember a much, much darker show.

 

i think he sold his painting created during the show afterwards for $500 to boot.

[blindgonzo]

I saw both of his shows in january here in vancouver. i have to say i was pretty disappointed. both nights there were some excruciating phases with really hard and distorted sounds. i wish i had brought my earplugs. he played some really nice tunes, took a few requests from the crowd, but overall he seemed super depressed and certainly made my sister and i leave the show feeling really conflicted.

[HungryHippo]

i saw him on tuesday night at the bluebird in nashville. it was a great show. he sounded excellent.

 

the looping for me never gets old especially in such an intimate setting. i saw him open for wilco at the orange peel several years ago and remember a much, much darker show.

 

i think he sold his painting created during the show afterwards for $500 to boot.

I watched a clip of Can't Exist from this show and it was amazing! I too saw Joe open for Wilco but in Raleigh. we must have caught him a couple of days apart. yeah, the show in Raleigh was horribly dark. I had no idea what looping was at the time and thought he was lip-syncing and wasn't impressed. also, I'm pretty sure he had some drug issues around that time which may have contributed to his show's vibes.

 

with that being said, this tour marks the 1st time Joe has been back to NC since he opened for Wilco back in '04. I'll be seeing him in Carrboro on Valentine's Day! what a perfect way for a single guy to spend the day, lol.

[The High Heat]

I too saw Joe open for Wilco but in Raleigh. we must have caught him a couple of days apart. yeah, the show in Raleigh was horribly dark. I had no idea what looping was at the time and thought he was lip-syncing and wasn't impressed. also, I'm pretty sure he had some drug issues around that time which may have contributed to his show's vibes.

I was at that Sept. '04 Raleigh Wilco show as well. I remember thinking I'd like his songs if it weren't for all that horrible sound coming from his guitar. I guess that's from the looping, but I swear I thought he had a busted amp or something. And it wasn't the theater either (Wilco was phenominal and sounded great. I thought the roof would blow during Poor Places!) I've seen Arthur on a few tv spots and he's sounded great every time. I suppose he may be experimenting not only with sound, but also with audience comfort levels.

[hardwood floor]

Joseph Arthur's drummer Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek is a good dude and a hell of a drummer

[CortezTheKiller]

Now that we've had two years to digest this material, can we definitively say 2008 was the year of Joseph Arthur?

[brianjeremy]

They have 2 hand-painted LP's of Joseph Arthur at the local record store. Should I buy these and sell them on ebay? I am only sort of kidding. Are they Rare? It says limited edition of 200 on the package.

[HungryHippo]

I was at that Sept. '04 Raleigh Wilco show as well. I remember thinking I'd like his songs if it weren't for all that horrible sound coming from his guitar. I guess that's from the looping, but I swear I thought he had a busted amp or something. And it wasn't the theater either (Wilco was phenominal and sounded great. I thought the roof would blow during Poor Places!) I've seen Arthur on a few tv spots and he's sounded great every time. I suppose he may be experimenting not only with sound, but also with audience comfort levels.

that was my 1st Wilco gig! yeah, it was so amazing! I felt bad for Joe that night. he didn't go over well with the audience. I saw one fan approach him after the show for an autograph. I wanted to talk to Joan as she was looking mighty good that night! alas, I didn't know what to say.

 

Now that we've had two years to digest this material, can we definitively say 2008 was the year of Joseph Arthur?

2007 seemed to be a highly creative time for Joseph and The Lonely Astronauts. their live shows were just phenomenal. and the endless amounts of material which was coming out was impressive. I've listened to a handful of post '07 Lonely Astronaut shows and something is missing. even before Jen Turner left the band, they weren't the same.

 

I will say that I'm very impressed with what I've heard from Joe's recent solo shows. he's brought back the looping, was playing only acoustic guitar there for a while, and has also started painting on stage again. so far, this is the closest I've seen solo Joe get to his '02 shows which were perfection. I'm also loving his new material.

 

They have 2 hand-painted LP's of Joseph Arthur at the local record store. Should I buy these and sell them on ebay? I am only sort of kidding. Are they Rare? It says limited edition of 200 on the package.

I would buy the records and hold on to them for a bit. Joe did the same thing with the Junkyard Hearts eps back in the day and those are worth a small fortune now. imagine if Joe turns into the next Basquiat (don't mean by OD'ing but just an illustrious artist everyone wants a piece of) these things will be worth more than massive chunks of gold trimmed in quarter-sized diamonds. it could happen!

[HungryHippo]

just got back about an hour ago from seeing Joe in Carrboro! was an excellent show. night before last, Moog hooked him up with a free pedal thingy which sounds like a heavy, semi-distorted bass-like instrument which works totally well with his solo show. he debuted it tonight.

 

also got to meet him and chat for a bit. well, he did most of the talking as I was dumbfoundedly nervous. and, thanks to my tax refund and a settlement check the people in my town are getting because of this : Hazardous Waste Plant Explosion, I was able to purchase one of his paintings he did in a hotel the other night.

 

so overall, not a bad Valentine's Day for a single guy!

[HungryHippo]

Joe's new album, The Graduation Ceremony, is dropping on May 24. I've had the chance to listen to a lot of these songs develop over the last year and am really excited for this album. Of course, I say that about all of his new records but this one is going to be strong. Sound clips from the album can be previewed here: The Graduation Ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYMMhYTcwIc&feature=youtu.be

[HungryHippo]

NPR is now streaming Jo's new album, The Graduation Ceremony. NPR: The Graduation Ceremony stream

 

It's so great to hear a completely new solo album from Joseph. He has not released one since 2006, although there have been a handful of EPs, band/ side projects, miscellaneous blog postings, etc.

 

I am a few songs in and am REALLY impressed with this. I've heard a lot of these songs over the years at shows and online, yet nothing can beat these proper studio versions.

[brownie]

Wow, this sounds wonderful.

 

I have been in a bit of a musical funk over the past year or so (*nothing* has been connecting with me - I've started to think I no longer like music?)...but this is hitting all the right notes. I like this more than I liked his last album. (Although I *adored* Fistful of Mercy.)

 

Joe rarely lets me down.

 

I see him play live as often as I can...last time was on this past New Year's Day....he almost always blows me away.

 

Thanks for posting this link - it literally made my day!

[HungryHippo]

The Graduation Ceremony is out today! It's been getting great reviews so far. The French Rolling Stone gave it 4/5 stars.

[bleedorange]

Thanks for the heads up. I always look forward to a new Joseph Arthur release.

[HungryHippo]

Any of you guys check out Joseph's new release, Redemption City? It can be downloaded for free over at: http://www.josepharthur.com. I've always been a fan of his poetry and it's nice to hear it set to music (all of which he recorded himself, btw.)

[brownie]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

I am finding that Joe's songs always make me feel like I've always known them. They are familiar to me even though I haven't heard them before. (What's that all about?)

 

I've seen Joe at City Winery in NYC the past 3 New Year's Day's. I think this is becoming a tradition for me. *laughs*

 

What I can't seem to get my head around is how he writes all these very intense songs, but on stage is a complete goofball. This does not compute. I love him anyway. I still see him as often as I can, and out of probably half a dozen times now, I've only been disappointed once - the rest of the times I've seen him he totally blows me away.

 

What a strange and wonderful mix of artistic intensity in the songs and playing, and raucous laughter at his total goofiness.