Jack Johnson

Cardiff CIA

March 2nd 2006

Support .. ALO and Matt Costa

By Lydia Clare (SugarBuzz South Wales, UK)

A cold Cardiff night was what greeted those of us who stepped off the train ready for an evening of what can only be described as the best in current spiritual California surf rock. With three acts to look forward to and a massive buzz of anticipation rippling through town we took the opportunity to get in the mood by having our own moment of spirituality, so we stopped off at the pub and indulged in a little chocolate fudge cake.

Unfortunately we underestimated the gig start time and as a result missed first support act of the ALO. From the rave reviews heard as we walked through the doors it seems like they had been a surprisingly great start to the night especially when Jack Johnson appeared on stage to accompany them on “Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down“ the song he collaborated with them on which appears on their debut album Fly Between Falls.

All wasn’t lost though as Matt Costa arrived and simply wowed us with an eclectic half hour set. Combining the Bob Dylan folk sound with a splash of The Beach Boys he demonstrated that he is going to be at the head of the queue for pretenders to Jack Johnson’s crown.

Matt’s debut album Songs We Sing is a beautifully simple 14 track collection that shines with hope and a positive vibe which is so typical of this new spiritual side of music and all of which shone through in his performance. Flitting round different genre at times you could hear a hint of Beetlebum era Blur (These Arms) and he would then follow it up with some good old fashioned country (Sweet Rose). It really did feel like the Deep South has been brought to Cardiff but then just as quickly he moved back to the West Coast. In such a strong market, versatility is essential to keep people interested and this guy certainly has that.

At the moment of Jack Johnson’s entry the arena was filled to bursting, but there was none of the tensions usually felt at gigs this large. The feeling was all about simply chilling out and just enjoying the music. But what can you expect when the main act is wandering about the stage barefoot. One friend commented they wouldn’t be surprised to see hippies sitting around on bean bags smoking joints.

The simplest of stage lay outs and a screen projecting images from the album covers acted as a reflection of the simple elegance of his music. It must have been at least a little bewildering for him as it was such a huge venue shift from Bristol. The change to Cardiff also allowed a massive diversity people to attend, all there for one thing, his stunning music.

The recorded sound of his voice lost nothing in the live transition. With the extra emphasis being placed on the piano and drums his music really came alive, especially with the highlighting of the reggae elements of his style, ensuring that bums didn’t stay seated for very long especially with Pianist Zach Laurie adding so much to the musical atmosphere. His energetic and frankly mind-boggling piano playing skills gave a more 3 dimensional angle to the acoustic guitar and vocals. But what was most interesting was the feeling that this all sounded so different to the albums and yet at the same time remained the same.

The songs off In-Between Dreams were the obvious favourites, though there was a surprisingly strong recognition for tracks off earlier albums Brushfire Fairytales and Times Like These. “Sitting Wishing Waiting“ prompted the first mass sing along of the night and it sent chills down your spine to see such a big crowd all dancing and singing together. His cover of “Whole Lotta Love“ was an extraordinary addition to the set list and any rock purist would have forgiven him for it. As he starting singing the only words that came to mind were “holy“ and “crap“. He made it his own, reinvented it for a new crowd and a new genre and not many people can get away with doing that to such a classic song.

With such a dance happy atmosphere for the majority of the evening it seemed fitting to bring the tone down for the simple acoustic end. Matt Costa emerged to join him on “Lullaby“ their collaboration on his latest album Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film “Curious George“. It really was a lullaby effect though with these last few songs.

Closing with “Better Together“, it never sounded better as it was tinged with a sense of sadness as it was the end of an inspiring night. People may get blase about Jack Johnson now that he has become so successful, but he has been working hard to establish himself long before In-Between Dreams came out and that shows in his humble appreciation of the crowd he drew tonight. As a musician there are none who could topple him at the moment so don’t be surprised if his albums are the summer soundtrack again.

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