Justin Townes Earle

[PopTodd]

Surprisingly good guitar player? Had you not seen any footage of his chops before?

No I had not. So he kinda kicked my ass that way.

[LouieB]

He is a very talented guy, I just wish he would not do the playing over the recorded tracks thing. I like him much more without that.

 

As much as I like him I htink I have developed a bit of a bad attitude about his constantly falling apart. I know some folks just can't help it, but at this point he has plenty of support and should have learned something from his father's experience, but I guess that is easy to say. I just hate to watch him go through this again and again (and I know his label would prefer he stay clean, since he is a very big artist for them at the moment.)

 

LouieB

[choo-choo-charlie]

No I had not. So he kinda kicked my ass that way.

 

Fair enough! I haven't had the chance to see him live yet; all I've got are the recordings and YouTube clips, like

and

.

 

He is a very talented guy, I just wish he would not do the playing over the recorded tracks thing. I like him much more without that.

 

As much as I like him I htink I have developed a bit of a bad attitude about his constantly falling apart. I know some folks just can't help it, but at this point he has plenty of support and should have learned something from his father's experience, but I guess that is easy to say. I just hate to watch him go through this again and again (and I know his label would prefer he stay clean, since he is a very big artist for them at the moment.)

 

LouieB

 

Above all, I prefer the tunes he plays alone, like those linked above. I'd love to hear him do a record like that. And it is disappointing to hear about his mental/physical condition in live settings. I think he's still got many great years ahead of him, but he's got to be careful. It'd be awful for him to continue repeating his father's mistakes or end up like Townes Van Zandt.

[LouieB]

And it is disappointing to hear about his mental/physical condition in live settings. I think he's still got many great years ahead of him, but he's got to be careful. It'd be awful for him to continue repeating his father's mistakes or end up like Townes Van Zandt.

I initially read "metaphysical" and thought, wow, we are getting heavy!!

 

I know his substance abuse issues are part of his allure I guess. I have seen him (and talked to him) many times over the years and he is a really personable guy (It is harder to get to talk to him now I am sure, just as it is harder to get to talk to Wilco.), but seeing someone stumbling around really isn't entertaining to me and so no matter how big his fan base is getting and as good as his records continue to be, I have no desire to go see a talent like his on display with all his issues in person. I never did see Townes Van Zandt in person because I understood his performances could turn into a train wreck. For some people seeing a musician who is a mental or physical wreck is entertaining, but just not for me. Addiction and mental illness are serious shit and have always reminded me of work.

 

LouieB

[PopTodd]

I initially read "metaphysical" and thought, wow, we are getting heavy!!

 

I know his substance abuse issues are part of his allure I guess. I have seen him (and talked to him) many times over the years and he is a really personable guy (It is harder to get to talk to him now I am sure, just as it is harder to get to talk to Wilco.), but seeing someone stumbling around really isn't entertaining to me and so no matter how big his fan base is getting and as good as his records continue to be, I have no desire to go see a talent like his on display with all his issues in person. I never did see Townes Van Zandt in person because I understood his performances could turn into a train wreck. For some people seeing a musician who is a mental or physical wreck is entertaining, but just not for me. Addiction and mental illness are serious shit and have always reminded me of work.

 

LouieB

His performance never became a trainwreck on Thursday. In fact, it was very, very good; I just had the feeling that it could have been better.

And he was never really falling down, just seemed a little lost at times.

[LouieB]

His performance never became a trainwreck on Thursday. In fact, it was very, very good; I just had the feeling that it could have been better.

And he was never really falling down, just seemed a little lost at times.

I wasn't specifically refering to this one actually and I wasn't at the actual club date he played in Chicago just prior to his hospitalization (I was at the Reckless Records in store and spoke to him afterwards), but even the folks at his label said it was a sad affair and that there was nothing they could do about it.

 

At his best (and it doesn't sound like he was at it) Justin is an old school performer who makes eye contact with everyone, so it is like he is singing just for you. He is gracious and controled and articulate. This is the winning combo that has made him a minor star. Doesn't sound good, or else he is playing to what people think they want him to be. Either way...

 

LouieB

[choo-choo-charlie]

 

I know his substance abuse issues are part of his allure I guess.

For some people seeing a musician who is a mental or physical wreck is entertaining, but just not for me. Addiction and mental illness are serious shit and have always reminded me of work.

 

LouieB

 

On the same token, I think a lot of folks (including people on this board) would say their favorite time to see Wilco was when Tweedy was in the grips of his addiction/depression. I wasn't around then...all I have to judge is the current incarnation of the band, a damn fine one.

[lamradio]

Well off the wagon or not (I hope not), I'm really looking forward to seeing him live next week for the first time. I've been wanting to for years now but he hasn't come anywhere close.

 

And speaking of his chops, I hope I get a chance to meet him. I want to thank him for inspiring me to learn the Travis style guitar picking (without making too much of a geek out of myself).

[LouieB]

On the same token, I think a lot of folks (including people on this board) would say their favorite time to see Wilco was when Tweedy was in the grips of his addiction/depression. I wasn't around then...all I have to judge is the current incarnation of the band, a damn fine one.

While there may be some truth to this, it is really a specious argument. People may like the work that an artist does under the influence, but it doesn't get to the heart of either the creative ablilities of an artist, nor the real source of their inspiration. So many musicans took heroin because Charlie Parker was a heroin addict (for example). Would anyone believe that taking painkillers would make them a better songwriter?

 

Of course there is some romantic notion that we all may hold on this point, me included, but the real toll is just to great to expect our favorite musician to be in that much physical or psychological pain to justify the trade off. But clearly the idea that the tortured soul of the artist justifies the abuse of whatever substance appears to be fueling their creativity can be counteracted by numerous examples of artists who are not involved in substance abuse. In Justin's case it does appear to have created some material, but it is extremely painful to see. (Although his father's body of work prior to his incarceration is pretty imipressive, his post prison work is impressive as well.)

 

LouieB

[PopTodd]

(Although his father's body of work prior to his incarceration is pretty imipressive, his post prison work is impressive as well.)

The post-prison/sober work is better, I would say.

[GtrPlyr]

The post-prison/sober work is better, I would say.

Yeah, probably my favorite records of his are the 3 or 4 he did after getting clean.

[LouieB]

I agree. In fact up until the last few years, he has turned out exceptional albums.

 

LouieB

[junkiesmile]

I agree. In fact up until the last few years, he has turned out exceptional albums.

 

LouieB

I quite liked his last album and saw him at Gruene Hall when he was touring it. Great show.

[junkiesmile]

I also saw Justin at Antones. It was a good performance but the crowd noise ruined it for me. He seemed fine. I was hoping he would get pissed off and tell the crowd to shut up but he never did.

[howdjadoo]

Some nice stuff here (Ta Silvia)

 

http://archive.org/details/JTE2011-11-26.24bit

[PopTodd]

I also saw Justin at Antones. It was a good performance but the crowd noise ruined it for me. He seemed fine. I was hoping he would get pissed off and tell the crowd to shut up but he never did.

That makes me feel a little better. I do hope that he is doing well.

[LouieB]

I nearly asked someone from Bloodshot the other night about this, then figured it was a bad idea. Maybe he was just having an off night, too little sleep or something.

 

LouieB

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

We saw him Saturday night in Philadelphia and he seemed completely fine--charming, chatty between songs, and not a wrong note the whole night. He seemed very coherent and sober, which was a relief. I really enjoyed the show, and my boyfriend even admitted that it exceeded his expectations. The crowd was pretty good, too, except for one drunk guy yelling stupid things. Justin finally made fun of him at one point, but the guy was so drunk that he didn't realize the wisecracks were about him.

[Plumplechook]

Saw him twice in Sydney when he was touring here last month - and he was terrific both times. Chatty and engaged - no sign of any issues. He does make quite a lot of references to his previous drug problems - and his propensity to fall off the wagon. But on the evidence of these shows he is in a good place. Hope for his sake (and our sake) that continues.

[lamradio]

Saw him two nights ago and he was excellent... Such a great showman. He's also a much better guitar player than I had realized. It's something you really have to witness live to be able to grasp fully.

 

About his health; he looked healthy to me. Yeah he's skinny as a rail, but he always has been. I think he has a lady with him now to keep him in line. I saw her on stage a couple times before the show and they kissed just before he performed.

[calvino]

I just listened to Steve's record "Townes" this morning, again - Steve and Justin sure do sound great together.

[Shug]

I just saw Justin for the second time last week. It was a solo acoustic show. I usually vastly prefer a full band to a solo performance, but in this case, I think I liked Justin better solo because he's such a captivating performer/entertainer and he sure is a good finger-picker on guitar, sounds like its two or three guitars at once. His song introductions are as revealing and entertaining as ever. Its a weird feeling to me, like I'm invading his privacy or being a voyeur when I listen to him sing such songs and tell the stories of his life that are behind them. But he also talked about a friend who is in prison stating that's where he'd probably be if it weren't for music and the fans that buy his records and come see his shows. He seemed deeply and sincerely grateful to his audience. He's truly masterful at holding an audience's attention, no shyness nor any lack of confidence. What a great performer and his songs are so moving to me, especially the ones about his Dad.

 

One interesting thing with him being solo is that he's free to bend the tempos throughout the song. It gives him just one more tool to convey emotion in his songs. He was slurring some words, but I think that was stylistic, because his fingers were completely dextrous and flying on the strings with no mistakes that I could hear.

[Magnetized]

I've only seen Justin live once, and it was a solo show, so I don't really have a valid basis for comparison, but I think I would agree with you. I've seen several recordings where he's with a band or at least one other player, and while they were really good, I missed the intimacy of the solo show. I agree with everything you said--his connection with the audience is just remarkable!

 

I've mentioned it before but not for a while--if you're on Twitter, you really should subscribe to his tweets. They're not particularly clever or informative, but they're just so random, they make me laugh out loud! He's definitely not trying to build his brand with his Twitter account--it just seems spontaneous and sometimes really funny.

[anthony]

I just saw his solo acoustic show. It was wonderful for all the great reasons cited above. I would have to say that I prefer his songs solo versus full band and ever prefer them to the album versions.

[LouieB]

 he sure is a good finger-picker on guitar, sounds like its two or three guitars at once.

Last time I saw Justin (about a year ago) he was playing with pre-recorded tracks so that it sounded like three guitars (because it was.)  He may not have been doing that the night you saw him.  He is a good picker though.

 

LouieB