Jay Buchanan Concert Review - Alex's Bar-Long Beach, CA-12/30/11

 

Jay Buchanan at Alex's Bar

Jody and I first spotted Jay Buchanan at the Gypsy Lounge in Lake Forest, Ca. circa 1999. We would frequent this club to catch local acts. I'm not sure who we were there to see initially, but when Jay got on stage, played the first few chords and opened his mouth, I remember thinking, Holy Shit! Who is this guy?! In 99' his sound was already flawless. I never imagined that a musician of his caliber could improve on perfection, but he has. This is what makes his performances transcendental. He masterfully combines the essences of  soulful blues, folk and rock. He also uses them at will. Diametrically opposed is the word that comes to mind when you consider his collaboration project with Rival Sons and his solo work.

Jay is not a typical rock guy. He's not pretentious. He doesn't require a big stage production or a plethora of equipment. In fact each time I've seen him play solo he usually takes the stage with just a guitar and his seraphic voice. The show at Alex's tonight was no different. Stepping to the stage with a red Gibson guitar he played an eight song, hour long set of incredible ethereal music. Jay's lyrics are introspective and often paint pictures of love and loss. He seems to be a keen observer on the human condition and has the ability to draw you into the picture that he is trying to paint. His incredible whisper to a scream vocals are often times jaw dropping.

Fresh off the road with Rival Sons, Jay gave his fans a treat at this show playing a retrospective set list. He kicked off the night with "Post Coital Kiss" which is Jody's personal favorite. He went all the way back to the 1999 album Violence for "Satan is a Woman," which he freely admitted to not playing in a "long, long time." He closed the evening with my favorite, "Internal Dialogue," where in the chorus he belts out "there is beauty everywhere." When it comes to Jay's music, I couldn't agree more.

Spotted in the crowd at the Jay Buchanan show was writer/performer/poet Derrick Brown. We have been fans of Derrick since his days as lead singer of The John Wilkes Kissing Booth. If you've never checked them out you should. They rock.

Jody with poet Derrick Brown