Village Green Stage
Everyone knows that early birds always get the worm, and this show was no exception. At around 6:15, G. Love, casually clad in a white tank and an airbrushed trucker hat, took to the mini-stage at the Village Green – an expo of local and regional non-profits like Sweetwater Organic Farms and the Surfrider Foundation. He treated fans to a short solo-acoustic set which included a slithery, harmonica-lathered version of “Baby’s Got Sauce” that had them singing along to lyrics like “your baby ain’t sweet like mine.” However, the real surprise (or non-surprise if you troll fan sites) came when G. Love, whose real name is Garret Dutton III, called out his “brother Jack” and ALO’s Zach Gill to power through backyard versions of “Stepping Stone,” “Girl I Wanna Lay You Down,” and “Mudfootball.” It was a rare opportunity to see the headliner up close and personal, and the set’s backyard feel perfectly encapsulated the entire evening’s vibe.
ALO
At 7:15 p.m., San Francisco jam-pop foursome, Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) warmed up the mostly empty seats with songs from their five-album catalog, but the band didn’t seem to mind the lack of attention. They breezed through cuts like the title track from their latest record – Man of the World – and treated the lawn canoodlers to a pleasing version of “Girl I Wanna Lay You Down,” which plays like a more innocent version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let Get It On.”
G. Love
Forty minutes later G. Love – now dressed in a slick, black button down and jeans – took to the stage and showcased how to get it done with just a harmonica and guitar. He foot-stomped his way through an eight-song set that saw him work fret board magic – playing blues licks at a rapid pace all while pounding the stage with his boots and blowing hard into the harp. His rapid-fire delivery on “Cold Beverage” from his 1994 debut album proved that after almost twenty years on the scene, the 37-year-old Dutton still has what it takes. He wielded a dobro for a cover of a Robert Johnson track that sounded like “Walking Blues,” but even though it felt like the sound guy was still finding the right mix, it was clear that G. Love knew that to play the blues, he still had to pay homage to South. He even told the crowd, “Tampa makes me feel dirty…I’ve had some crazy nights in this town…,” before launching into a version of “Booty Call” that made his Philadelphia blues sound like they were truly meant to be southern country fried. He closed out his set with “Rainbow,” and even though Jack Johnson didn’t make an onstage cameo on the song (which they co-wrote for the Thicker Than Water soundtrack), the crowd wouldn’t have to wait long for Hawaii’s greatest musical export.
Jack Johnson
At precisely 9 p.m., Jack Johnson took to the stage in front of an audience that filled every seat and stretched to the farthest corners of the lawn. If this show wasn’t sold out, then it sure as hell looked like it, and the crowd – from the revelers in the pit to the bare-footed dancers on the lawn – seemed ready for the marathon set that ensued. Over the next two hours, Johnson effortlessly made his way through a 25-song set (plus a four song encore), rarely taking a break between songs, and gracefully peppering the setlist with a variety of songs from his nearly decade long career.
He opened with “Banana Pancakes” and the song – written as a joke for his wife – seemed to typify the humble, laid-back, vibe that Johnson and his band radiate. The only flourish on set was the curved video screen behind the band, and it was hard to watch green balloons floating over the sea of hands during “You and Your Heart” and believe that Johnson is a huge, global rock star. In fact, by the time the band made it’s way through a stripped, electrified version of “Brushfire Fairytales,” the show already felt like one big ass backyard barbeque, and Johnson’s everyman vibe was shining brightly for everyone to see. Save for a few songs (“Wasting Time”) the set was devoid of the charming chord flubs that Johnson sometimes commits on stage. Instead, the 35-year-old charmed Tampa with stories about being the “creepy guy” who chained his bike to his wife’s own two-wheeler in college (“Do You Remember”) and challenging the crowd to the awkward task of trying to “take a leak while 20,000 people are cheering for you,” before kicking off his encore with the Sleep Through the Static cut, “Angel.”
He’s come a long way from playing strictly acoustic, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, and Johnson – who played a red Gibson ES-335 on at least 12 songs – seemed comfortable fiddling with his pedals and ripping solos on songs like “Go On” and “At or With Me.” While he may be famous for his simple, palm-muted rhythms, it’s obvious that the man more than knows his way around the rosewood.
What may not have been so obvious was the message behind many of the songs. Johnson has a way of concealing his environmentally conscious lyrics behind breezy melodies and catchy chord structures, and the crowd – presumably all residents of Gulf Coast states – seemed to just lazily sway to songs like “The Horizon Has Been Defeated,” which boasts the lyrics about offshore drilling. While he was never preachy, Johnson made good note of the fact that there is still oil poisoning the Gulf of Mexico, and even dedicated his cover of Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at 40” to the cleanup.
Still, if the crowd was just looking to relax and let loose, then Johnson was ready to oblige. He had them screaming along to a carefree version of Steve Miller’s “The Joker,” dedicated the Curious George track “Upside Down” to “anyone with a family,” and treated everyone to a version of “Staple It Together” that found G. Love using his harp to send a deep howl into the Tampa air; hell, bassist, Merlo Podlewski (who moonlights as J Radio) even rapped a few bars over the In Between Dreams cut, sending the audience into a frenzy. Johnson even let other players get in even deeper on the action: crowd favorite “Flake” got hot with a fiery lap steel solo from ALO’s Dan Lebowitz, and Zach Gill trilled the shit out of his melodica on “Bubble Toes.” With little or no time spent tuning or talking between songs, Johnson & Co. made the show fly by.
It was hard to believe that they would play such an extended set, but the crowd was grateful – sticking it out past 11 p.m. – and Johnson seemed like he really wanted to give the audience their money’s worth. He brought out the entire bill – including Brushfire labelmate Paula Fuga – for several songs and hearing her chant on “Give Voice” makes you think that Randy, Paula, and Simon are kicking themselves for passing on the 31-year old Hawaiian when she auditioned for the now meritless American Idol in 2003. He closed out the encore with “Better Together” and watching his band –Podlewski, Gill, and percussionist Adam Topol – play through the feel good sing along, it’s easy to understand why the Jack Johnson brand has become so popular.
Here is a really normal, guy who really could be your next-door neighbor, singing songs about real life that you could never write. He has a way of making the simple life seem so easy – and desirable – to live. At the end of the show, you almost wanted to be part of the crowd on the lawn – I bet their rain-soaked BlackBerrys and iPhones had stopped beeping and vibrating way before the set even began.
Jack Johnson Setlist:
01. Banana Pancakes
02. Mudfootball
03. You and Your Heart
04. The Horizon Has Been Defeated
05. Brushfire Fairytales
06. Taylor
07. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
08. Go On
09. To the Sea
10. Do You Remember
11. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology
12. If I Had Eyes
13. Bubble Toes/Mellow Mood (Bob Marley)
14. Wasting Time
15. Breakdown
16. Upside Down
17. Turn Your Love (with Paula Fuga)
18. Country Road (Paula Fuga) (with Paula Fuga)
19. Give Voice (Paula Fuga) (with Paula Fuga)
20. Flake (with Dan Lebowitz)
21. The Joker (Steve Miller)
22. Good People
23. Rodeo Clowns (with G. Love)
24. Staple It Together (with G. Love & J Radio)
25. At or with Me
Encore:
01. Angel (Solo Acoustic)
02. A Pirate Looks at 40 (Jimmy Buffett)
03. Constellations
04. Better Together (with G. Love, ALO, Paula Fuga)/I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
Photos by: Brad Moore
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Post new comment