Justin Townes Earle is the most relatable artist I have ever seen. Although his shows are absolutely outstanding – one of the highlights of the performance certainly is the pre-song banter that he is prone to. On the plus side, it doesn’t seem like he uses the same stories every show either, making the connection with the audience seem real, rather than some sort of act.
Earle told the audience that his songs were not necessarily autobiographical. He says “mothers” come up a lot in his songs, but that doesn’t mean it is about his mother. When commenting on the art of songwriting, he said that you really have to pull from everyone’s story, that writing diary entries don’t work. This core belief about song writing is probably another reason that the music is consistently so relatable.
The best banter of the evening was when he was describing his new album Single Mothers, he said that there were a lot of songs on there meant to spite someone. He called her a “horrible creature he dated for way too long.” Then repeated, “fucker, fucker” before pausing to laugh and say, “I am a spiteful songwriter.” I couldn’t help, but laugh (and adore him more) when he said that the best thing to do was to take secrets and put them into songs, so no one else knows what it means, but that one person will know, and every time they hear it – it will fuck with them.
Alright, so Earle is witty and charming – and everyone probably wants to buy him a beer – but what about the music? Earle’s songs are fantastic. How do I know this? Because the people in the audience were so entranced, that they didn’t pull their new iPhone 6 out in order to capture the moment. This was probably the most respectful concert I have been too. People were listening intently – again, probably because the songs and the artist are just so relatable.
Earle sang, “Mama’s Eyes” with his eyes closed the entire time, and there wasn’t a peep in the venue. He opened up the song by telling us that when his mom hears the song, she runs up to the stage and cries (drawing attention to herself as a six foot woman). I think that really sweet story, resulted in the audience wanting to hear exactly what made his mama cry.
One of the best song experiences of the evening was when he sang a tribute to Billie Holliday, “White Gardenias.” Before beginning the slow tempo that introduces the song, he told us that it bothered him that the jazz artist was remembered as a junkie. This struck a chord with me, why do we have to always remember people for their bad qualities? So this tribute and the message about remembering a whole person – was a really memorable performance.
Earle also informed us that he doesn’t know what any of the songs on his album sound like because he never plays things the same way twice (he credits this to his lack of tempo recognition). This was one of the most refreshing things about the evening. A live performance doesn’t need to sound exactly like an album – couldn’t I just listen to the album and not spend the cash if that was the case?. He was right, the songs didn’t sound exactly the same as they do on the albums, longer solos – change in tempos – different feeling.
The most impactful song of the night was “I’ll be forgiven for this,” a song that is so beautifully written and haunting.
When you stop paying attention to Earle’s charms, you’ll notice how great his band is also. They definitely let him take the main stage, but contribute some great rifts and harmonies. They however, never speak or share any witty stories.
I’ll leave you with this last bit of wisdom from Earle… country music today is not country music. Hank Williams and Dock Boggs would shoot all current country stars on the street. He states, “I love country. And I love Hip Hop, but the two should never meet” (looking at you Billy Ray). Earle brings a little something from the past with him on stage… plus his tattoos sneaking out of his dapper attire is worth the price of the ticket alone.