'GO FOLK YOURSELF' London

Last night, May 15th - live from the University of London Union, supporting Jesse Malin, let's hear it for the stripped down acoustic Marah sound of Dave Bielanko and Christine Smith...

Can't Take It With You

Round Eye Blues
After the short Marah set, Christine did a quick 'costume change' offstage and then reappeared to accompany Jesse for the main event. A great show - even the big lug security guy at the side of the stage was getting into it and clapping along.


Jesse played a lot of his crowd pleasing favourites like Brooklyn, Solitaire, Wendy and Broken Radio, and he also performed some choice covers - including Harry Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin', Neil Young's Helpless and Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side (with Dave B joining in on acoustic). Oh and yes, I almost forgot, there was a cracking version of the Lords of the New Church's Russian Roulette with special guest Brian James (The Damned, LOTNC) on guitar! A really enjoyable night.

Update: I wasn't going to post this video as I accidently set the resolution so low that Jesse ended up being the size of an ant (stay away from alcohol kids)! But hold steady, it's not too bad...

You Can Make Him Like You (The Hold Steady)

p.s. Thanks to Dave for reducing the T-shirts to a fiver - very handy for some additional warmth whilst walking home at a chilly 1AM (now that the week of British Summer is over).


marah-usa.com
jessemalin.com

Hey Jesse your so fine... Hey Jesse

Jesse Malin was back playing in London last night, this time at the Islington Academy. Jesse and his band gave another great performance. I'd say it was even better than the ULU gig they did in May; The highlights for me were a terrific 'Brooklyn', 'Wendy' and a cover of The Clash's 'Death or Glory'. Here's one of the quieter moments amongst all the kickass noise...

Jesse Malin - Solitaire
6th November, Islington Academy, London
And here's a clip of 'Death or Glory'. It's halfway through the song, Jesse has brought the music down and got the audience to sit on the floor around him. I've had to brighten the picture a bit since this took place out of the reach of the stage lights, but you can get an idea of what was going on...

Jesse Malin - Death or Glory
www.jessemalin.com

Old Jesse

Crikey! Who'd have seriously thought that Man City would have won today? Perhaps when I went forward in time yesterday I actually saw just one of many possible alternate futures? If that's true then who can really say what is going to happen next week? Answer: Nobody.

Right now though, as a non-football prediction, I'm pretty sure that Jesse Malin won't be playing his planned concert in London on friday night - It's been cancelled due to an insect bite infecting his spine (!) or something equally hideous. Never mind, the good news is that he's on the mend.

To make up for the gig disappointment, jump in the Time Machine with me now; We'll travel a handful of years back in time and a few thousand miles to the left in space. I've set the controls for December 7, 2003 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Ready? OK, let's go...

Wendy - Jesse Malin
(with Bruce Springsteen & The Max Weinberg 7)

ULU TKO

I've just returned back from seeing Jesse Malin and his band play at ULU (University of London Union). Hey Jesse, if you are up late and googling this - 'great show!' - I suspect though he's either having a post show booze up in the Columbia bar or has already had his milk and cookies and is tucked up in bed. Rock 'n' Roll!


I remember, a few years back, I was on vacation in New York City, browsing in a Greenwich Village record store. I'd read good reports about Jesse's debut album The Fine Art Of Self Destruction but I don't think I had heard anything from it. Anyway, I decided to buy it and listened to it as I travelled around Manhattan. Wow! It was the soundtrack of my trip and rates up there with Lou Reed's New York album as one of the finest about the city. The follow up album, The Heat, was good in places but a bit of a disappointment in comparison. I felt the same the first time I saw Jesse, playing on The Heat tour in London - It should have been good but it seemed lacklustre, something was missing...

So, when Jesse's latest album Glitter In The Gutter came out and the ULU gig was announced I must admit that I was not all that enthusiastic about the news. Credit must go to my trusty sidekick MustyMC who went and got me a ticket for last night's show and ignited my interest in the Glitter CD. It's a very good album, a real grower and now Jesse has enough great material to put on a show to match.


The set was a wisely chosen mix, consisting mostly of the best songs from the new album like 'Black Haired Girl', 'Broken Radio', 'In The Modern World' and a stunning 'Aftermath', and old favourites from The Fine Art Of Self Destruction like 'Wendy', 'Brooklyn', 'Queen Of The Underworld', 'Riding On The Subway' and 'Solitaire'. Halfway through Solitaire Jesse got down from the stage and made his way into the centre of the crowd. He then got everyone to crouch down on the floor around him and we all sang along together to the end of the song (see photo above). A great moment.

Jesse and the band also sprinkled in a few choice covers: A fast, energetic version of Harry Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin', a solo acoustic take on The Hold Steady's You Can Make Him Like You and pretty accurate performance of The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (aided by support band Headway).

Nice one Jesse.

Jesse Malin Homepage

The Angels Love You More Than You Know

Jesse Malin embarks on his latest European tour this week. It hits London on May 16th when he'll be playing at ULU. I'll try and get a few pics posted here. In the meantime, from his latest album here's his Radio 2 airplay 'hit', Broken Radio...



It's a bit soppy but nice. A song for everyone to wave their lit camera phones to. Listen to more from Glitter In The Gutter at Jesse Malin Myspace