Joshua James w/ Neulore at the Cedar, Minneapolis (07 Sep 2014)
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09/09/14 Iowa City, IA The Mill
09/10/14 Indianapolis, IN Hi-Fi* 09/11/14 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark 09/12/14 Naperville, IL The Union 09/13/14 Evanston, IL SPACE* 09/16/14 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java* 09/18/14 Americana Music Festival & Conference 09/18/14 Nashville, TN The Rutledge 09/19/14 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion 09/20/14 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion 09/21/14 Charlotte, NC Stage Door Theater* 09/23/14 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle* 09/25/14 Atlanta, GA Vinyl* 09/26/14 Jackson, MS Duling Hall* 09/28/14 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley Bar and Grill* * with Neulore Read More
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Armon Jay
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Starting with a very short opening four-song set from singer/songwriter Armon Jay, played some tracks from his album Everything’s Different, Nothing’s Changed, including the title track, “Tomorrow” and “Burn the Bridge”. This was Jay’s second official show (third, if you count the Iowa house concert) on this tour… and although his set was brief, this was not the last we saw of Jay, who would later resurface as Neulore’s keyboardist.
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Neulore
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Nashville’s neo-folk Neulore was up next, and they seemed eager to be on the start of this tour.
Naturally, singer Adam Agin did most of the talking, however, whenever William T. Cook spoke, it was pure gold. Armon Jay helped them on keys, but left before “The Gathering Chant,” but returned just for “Shadow of a Man.”
All of the songs they played were from their forthcoming debut album Animal Evolve, which is set for release on September 23rd, via Chop Shop Records/Island Records.
During “Mercy! You Need Saving”, the band requested the audience to help sing the background vocals, to “turn this into church”.
For the introduction to their single, “Native Skin”, Agin asked, “Have you ever been screwed before?” (when someone yell ‘yes’ in a suggestive approving manner), Agin immediately responded, “Not that way!”
Maybe they dropped a song from the set, or perhaps as a last minute change in song, but Cook was confused about the penultimate track, which was “Shadow of a Man.” For this song, Cook got the tambourine out.
As for the finale, “Apples (When You Lost Your Belief)”, a song about second chances, the duo decided to play in the middle/front area of the quiet seated audience, instead of on the stage with the spotlight.
Born in Nebraska, Joshua James moved to the ‘mystic’ mountains above the Great Salt Lake in Utah when he was 18. Somehow, themes such as this great migration, communication, holy spirit, friends, family, relationship, belonging, death, and darkness, always manage to sneak their way into many of James’ songs.
For this current tour, James has a full band (Isaac on bass, Timothy “the Teeth” on drums, and Evan on electric guitar) backing him up. My impression of the introduction was that everyone in the band had side projects (other bands or solo albums) in the works, so they can all stand on their own.
The rest of the band left Joshua James and Evan alone, right before they started “Dark Cloud,” a rather dark, sad song, but with a hint of hope.
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Joshua James Setlist
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James had introductions for many of his songs, giving us a glimpse of his life (since many of these songs are about him and the important people surrounding him). One of the most personal song was “Feel the Same,” which was about how he thought technology and Facebook and human interactions were making him less human… so he decided to write real letters to his family and friends… and only one of them wrote back.
Encore was going to be just “Beware!”, but as soon as the band started to head off the stage, James decided at the last minute that he was going to do one more song… and that song was “Lovers Without Love Like Me.”
Joshua James is currently on tour in support of his latest album From the Top of the Willamette Mountain, out now on Intelligent Noise Records.
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Joshua James at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (07 Sep 2014) |