Sir, put down the gun

The tickets said that the doors opened at 7. We were told that the show started at 8. Word on the street was that Madeleine Peyroux was playing at 9. As we joined the confused queue outside the Danforth Music Hall, we realized that with assigned seating, there was no reason to line up. So we left and came back, and right at 8 some guy who looked disturbingly like a friend’s husband came on stage with an acoustic guitar. He didn’t tell us his name.

He turned out to be part Paul Simon, part Sting, and a little bit of Dylan, and sang lyrics that could’ve been written by Dave Frishberg. He was a strong songwriter, an excellent guitarist, a fabulous singer -- he knew how to hold back, and all his intonations were dead on -- but more importantly, he was humourous at times, and his lyrics were wry and clever without being pretentious. It was the lyrics, actually, that sold me; normally his kind of music would be too mellow for me.

After the set, we descended on the merch table and discovered that the guy’s name was Richard Julian. We pooled what little cash we had left on us and bought his newest CD, Slow New York. I haven’t listened to it yet, and I confess I’m afraid to; his acoustic guitar-playing was so fantastic that I fear his songs will be ruined by richer arrangements.

As rumoured, Madeleine Peyroux went on at 9. Several things surprised and delighted me about her performance:

• She was dressed in jeans and flipflops, more casual than most of the audience, and completely unlike her publicity photos.
  
  
• She played guitar, which I had no idea she did.
  
  
• Singing in French (“La Javanaise”) totally changes the quality of her voice; it opens up and becomes richer.
  
  
• Her pianist wore a suit, whereas her drummer had multiple piercings in his ear, a blue mohawk, and a wallet on a chain.
  
  
• Her bassist was really cute.

She seemed at ease with the audience, smiling a lot at first, bantering at times even, which made me wonder if her legendary disappearance is exaggerated. But she spent a lot of time turned away or looking down while playing or speaking. During the few songs for which she put down the guitar, her posture was awkward as if she didn’t know what to do with her arms. I suspect that she’s comfortable enough performing, but not enough to work a room.

But the thing I really liked is how all the musicians interacted -- watching each other for cues, Ms. Peyroux giving instructions on the spot, her own delayed vocal phrasing -- as if they’d barely rehearsed. They even flubbed a phrase or two, but pulled it together quickly, and did solos that sounded spontaneous. And that puts Madeleine Peyroux firmly in the territory of jazz rather than pop, thank goodness.

Richard Julian website
Richard Julian on MySpace
Madeleine Peyroux website
Madeleine Peyroux on MySpace