The show was at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines. I'd heard about it, but had never been there. Hoyt Sherman is a theatre that is probably 90 years old or so? Beautiful place, and the acoustics are really good. It is attached to a house, and pre-show, you can walk around and look at old trinkets and artifacts, so that was kinda fun to do. The theatre holds maybe 1000 people? I'm guessing it was 2/3 full. From my seat in the balcony, I didn't get a good view of the lower level.
No parking at the place unless you do $15 valet. So you need to park on the street. Vicki and I got something about a block away, so no big deal. I saw tickets were available, so I didn't get them ahead of time. Was going to walk up, but saw some selling on StubHub. There were a pair of front row tickets for $50 a piece this afternoon, but somebody snatched them before I pulled the trigger. So I held off for some desperate person that was selling a pair for $9 a piece in the balcony. Bought them 2.5 hours before the show. So I got a hell of a bargain, as their face was $27 a ticket.
The show started about 8:15, so a bit after the scheduled start time of 8. It was a very spartan stage. No light show or pyrotechnics or anything fancy like that. Just Joe's keyboard, and elevated drum set, and then all the packing crates just left on the stage.
Joe came out solo to start the show. He mentioned he was his own opening act. So just Jackson and his keyboard. He opened with "It's Different For Girls". That's probably not a well known song by the general public, but listeners to XM's 1st Wave channel would certainly recognize it. He did 3 more songs by himself.
The remaining 3 musicians made their way out during songs, which was kind of a cool way to bring them out. They just jumped in as they got out there. The lead guitar and bassist were certainly competent guys. They didn't particularly do anything to steal the spotlight from Joe. Both Vicki and I were impressed with the drummer all night. He was tight, and really added to the performance. Saw him break a stick, and he didn't miss a beat, just grabbed another and kept going.
I think it was 5 or 6 songs in, Joe played "Is She Really Going Out With Him", which was his first hit to chart in the US, back in 1979. Probably my favorite song of his (or Breaking Us in Two, which Jackson didn't perform tonite). I got to holler "Where?" just like at 1:30 into this video.
So obviously Jackson had his biggest commercial success in the 1980s. And like most any band/artist that is a few years removed from their hits, that's probably what most people go to hear. So when the band goes, "And here is a song from our new album..." everybody groans and heads to the bathroom or to go hit the beer line. Jackson was no different, and mentioned he was going to play some songs from his latest release "Fast Forward". But ya know what? They were some really good songs. I enjoyed them as much as any of the "oldies". I didn't hit the merch table on the way out, but I will be looking to purchase. Again, that is why I like Joe Jackson, there's always a different song/sound. Some slow, some that rock out pretty good.
Of course he played "Steppin' Out", his biggest US hit. And while that was a big hit, I probably wouldn't put it in my top 10 favorite Joe Jackson songs. Just not a big fan of that song. But tonite, he slowed it down, didn't have that fast synth sound to it, and it sounded really cool. Not really sure why, but for some reason, as they were playing it, it reminded me of Phil Collins "In The Air Tonite". It was paced like that, and just had a good sound.
The show also had a couple of covers in there, including a David Bowie song, and that was fun little departure. The concert as a whole was not overly "slick". Which actually was ok. Joe goofed up a couple times. Missed some lyrics on a song, and had to start over. Also missed a note while singing, and croaked it out. But that is live music, and performers and fans took it all in stride.
Jackson wasn't overly chatty, but talked a bit about his songs, and his bandmates. He did answer one question I had, and that was if he had ever been to Iowa before. And he said in the show he had never performed here, so that was kinda cool to be in Iowa show #1.
So the show ended a bit in reverse of how it started. The band members just stopped playing during a song, gave a wave, and walked off the stage. And so Joe was left by himself, just as he had started. The show ended with the song "A Slow Song" which was a good one for he and his piano. The show clocked in at just under 2 hours.
I don't think Joe Jackson was ever a great vocalist. He has a distinctive sound, and he uses it well, but I've never thought his greatness was in his singing, it was more with the instruments and lyrics. And tonite was no different. As mentioned above, he squeaked out a wrong note once. Not sure if that is just the voice box getting older, or if maybe he has a sore throat, or maybe just one of those things. With that said, a good effort, and certainly was worth my money, and would have been had I paid full freight, instead of vulturing off some poor person on StubHub.
Also, just have to play social scientist here. I've been to many concerts, and typically my concert genre is a bit harder. But even so, most concerts have a core demographic probably, but I see lots of different ages and people there. But this may have been the least age diverse concert I have ever been to. I saw no kids, and 95% of the people there were between 45-55. Another thing I noted. This seemed to be a higher income crowd that concerts I typically go to. Most people were really well dressed. Didn't see any tats. Only saw 1 concert t-shirt (I saw a dude in an AC/DC black t-shirt, go figure?). Not sure what that all means, but just an observation.
So anyway, glad I went. Vicki isn't a big fan, but she enjoyed herself and had a good time. So I'm calling today a win, and glad Joe Jackson made a stop in DSM.
