By Ben Wright
First, some disclosures: I may be mildly in love with Joanna Newsom. I know it’s not lust, because our one-sided relationship has been going on for about three years now. I firmly believe that she is the greatest living songwriter. Bob Dylan doesn’t count, because he’s been dead for about a decade now. Don’t believe the lies.
For those who don’t know, Joanna Newsom is a 28-year-old harpist, pianist, and singer-songwriter from California. She’s been around 2004, but her last album was a long four years ago. Over her last three albums, her voice has matured from a nasal whine reminiscent of a pubescent boy to a more mature, chesty, debatably computer-modulated one on her latest album, “Have One On Me.”
As her career progresses, so does her production. Her film album “Milk-Eyed Mender” was just her, a harp and a piano. Her second album “Ys,” is more of the same, but with strings, flute and some backup vocals. Her latest release includes some electric guitar, banjo and more exotic instruments. I’m of the opinion that the increased production takes away from the stark beauty of the woman and her harp, but, against the critics, I’d appear to be wrong.
While “Have One On Me” is a lot longer (two hours) than her last album, it is considerably more conservative and more commercial than “Ys.”
Newsom’s talent lies in her ability to compose 10-plus minute songs that build up, crescendo and return back to their sparse roots, while weaving together fully formed narratives. They are fabulous, beautiful and oftentimes heartbreaking.
Newsom’s unconventional music, however, doesn’t really lend itself to a standing venue like Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse, where she played on March 26. Half of the venue, however, does have seating, but I did not find myself among the lucky ones.
No strangers to concerts and festivals, to me, standing up during a two hour set requires that the performer give the crowd some energy. Newsom’s music, however beautiful, is not the kind of set that makes me want to stand up and dance.
Her two hour set was impeccably performed; most of her new songs sounded exactly like they do on the album. She started out with one of my favorite songs of all time, “Bridges and Balloons,” and continued with some of her best songs, old and new, like “Easy,” “The Book of Right-On” and “Inflammatory Writ.” However, a good live band, to me, needs to either A) change their best-loved songs enough that they become a one-time experience so the audience will love it even more and in a different way or B) rock the house and show off the band’s technical skills.
Newsom’s show really didn’t live up to these requirements. The songs were performed very well, as is expected from such a tightly-composed musician. But they lacked that X factor that makes a live show really blow you away. The band didn’t start straying from the written music found on the album until the show’s last couple songs.
Her last song, “Peach, Plum, Pear” was a completely different orchestration than the one found on the album, and was easily the best song of the night. But it was the last song she played. She followed up with an encore of my favorite song from “Have One On Me,” “Baby Birch,” but, again, it was just as it appears on the album.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t disappointed by this show at all. My expectations of seeing one of my favorite artists live were met. I saw her, she sang songs, played the harp and piano and was cute. My opinion of her as a musician, though, didn’t grow at all. She proved to me that she is a capable musician and is really playing the songs on her CD.
But that’s about it. I still highly recommend and love her CDs and music, but, if given the choice between seeing Joanna Newsom and a band I’ve seen many times that knows how to rock a show, like Wilco, I’d choose Wilco, just for the experience.
