Yorn brings songs from the heart
By DAVE FULTON
Scene Music Critic
Unfortunately, musician is a term that gets thrown around much too loosely these days when radio puts out more cheese than a Wisconsin dairy farm. Being able to dance around on a stage while lip-synching to songs written by someone else falls far short of musicianship.
However, on Friday night at Heartland, Pete Yorn showed that there are still some deserving of the title musician. His 70-minute energetic, intimate and honest set blasted a refreshing musical air over the near-capacity crowd.
Backed by a four-piece band, the 27-year-old Yorn hit the ground running, opening his set with a blistering version of "Black," tipping his hat to one of his greatest influences, Joy Division. The song was injected with Yorn's adrenaline-laden strumming giving it a faster, frenzied feel. From there, the show gained momentum like a non-stop train pulling out of a station, never slowing down until it reached its final destination. Not an easy task, as much of Yorn's material consists of slower ballads. Yet, the singer/songwriter succeeded in the task with near perfection.
His performances of songs from musicforthemorningafter, his debut album, were granted subtle alterations, maintaining their solid craftsmanship, while staying fresh at the same time.
Where an acoustic guitar drives most of the songs on the album, Yorn only donned the instrument once during the show. The omission of that element in the set gave the songs a more aggressive feel, yet failed to take away from their intimate value.
Songs like "Simonize," "Lose You" and "On Your Side" actually came across more intimately than their studio counterparts. Much of this was due to the fact that Heartland looks more like the big basement of a well-to-do friend, than a sprawling dance club. The small size of the venue as well as the rawness of the songs and the subtle, warm lighting, gave an almost campfire quality to the ballads.
On the other hand, "For Nancy," and "Life on a Chain" took on an added intensity that breathed new life into the songs. Yorn's confidence and experience showed through in the songs. After touring almost non-stop for the past year and a half since the album's release, Yorn has his live performance down pat. There was no flashiness, no arrogant, rock star posing, instead there was a sense of personal enjoyment. Yorn clearly enjoys playing his songs to an audience, slipping sly grins across his lips while violently strumming his guitar.
Overconfidence might have been behind the added synthesizer line in "For Nancy." The song worked well as it slowly built up from Yorn strumming and singing alone, into an exploding chorus of drums, bass and distorted guitar. The added synth never really fit into the song's soundscape, yet at the same time, Yorn had enough sense to use it subtly. Thus even in bad judgment, Yorn made sure the song's overall quality would not be damaged.
Much of the music's excellence comes through in the lyrics. Fortunately, the sound quality of the vocals matched that excellence. Despite the heavy, three-guitar ambush, Yorn's voice always came through clearly over the instruments. All of his songs have a strong poetic quality to them in the same fashion as other singer/songwriters like Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley. Despite the content of the songs often dwelling on loss, there is a beauty in the choice of words and expressions that give them an honesty and tenderness without making them sound cliché.
With only one album of original material to play from, Yorn pulled out some covers and a B-side to not only fill time, but also pay his dues. David Bowie's "China Girl" and The Smith's "Panic" fit perfectly with Yorn's own songs, as much of Yorn's own material is strongly influenced by the British rock sound. The songs had an edgy aggressiveness that could have blown the roof off of the venue. Guitarist/keyboardist Joe Kennedy added melodic strums while lead guitarist Jason Johnson ripped at his guitar strings like a tiger attacking its prey. All of this was glued together by Terry Borden's nimble bass lines and Luke Adam's thunderous drum blasts.
However, it was the softer moments of the show that were most effective. Yorn's solo performance of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," followed by a delicate "Simonize" found Yorn at his best. Standing in total shadow at the microphone looking like a modern-day Jim Morrison with a guitar, he crooned the ballad with a raw, almost Dylanesque voice. Without the polish had by multiple studio takes, Yorn's vocals on "Simonize" and the beautiful "Lose You" turn into pleas, charging the songs with gentle emotion.
A solo, acoustic performance of "EZ" had the capability of being the highlight of the night, but fell short due to no fault of Yorn. Instead the incessant chatter of audience members plagued Yorn's delicate picking and peaceful crooning. Yet, for those actually listening, the stripped down, solo performance proved a real treat.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, April 23, 2002
