By: David Rachac
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David de Young (editor of this site) performs live at the Turf Club with JoAnna James backing band, featuring Jessy Greene (Photo by Dan Schultz - click for full size)
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Howwastheshow.com threw its third Anniversary party, (as well as founder David de Young’s birthday party) on a gorgeous night last Saturday at the Turf Club. Not only was there a strong line up, co-headlined by Romantica and Vicious Vicious, but there was the feeling that something special was in the air, something that could some day change the world. Or maybe it was just that everyone could smoke indoors in good old St. Paul – it could have been either one.
The physical changes to the Turf Club made by the new ownership are not all that dramatic. Like everyone, I miss the poster of Johnny Cash flipping everyone the bird and all of the posters and pictures behind the bar, but I am sure everyone will get used to the new stuff up on the walls. Some of the Christmas lights came down, but not all of them, and there were a few other lighting changes, but it is not like it is all decked out in neon and disco balls now. Tearing down the entryway and the little room by the bar does have a really positive effect of the feel of the size of the place, and probably will allow people to move about more freely. I think a lot of the hand-wringing that people were doing when the Turf was sold has been shown to be for naught, at least for now.
I knew the Turf Club would be pretty packed, so I rolled in early, figuring I’d wish the birthday boy a Happy Birthday long before he became incoherent. Beyond getting in before they start collecting the entry fee, showing up shortly after the doors opened allowed me to 1) get a place to sit down and 2) get a place to sit down and see a band I’ve never seen before. All I knew about Pete Hofmann was that David de Young recommended him, but that was good enough for me.
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JoAnna James (Center) was a hit at the HowWasTheShow 3rd Anniversary Party
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And Pete Hofmann and band were very exciting to listen to, in a very schizophrenic way. Half of the songs were up-tempo piano-driven raves (think Daryl Hall fronting the Smithereens – I know, it’s hard, but try), and half of them were Harry Connick-like torch ballads, all of which were delivered with a smile or a smirk or both. Hofmann is a natural showman, playing to the crowd, while his band tended to be a little more introspective and muted. He told a pretty funny story about how he hated his wife working at Snuffy’s in “Your Uniform”, and closed his set with “Mermaid On The Rocks”, with JoAnna James on background vocals. All in all, a very energetic set.
I had seen JoAnna James a couple of times before, and had been impressed with her soulful mix of folk, rock and blues, but nothing had prepared me for the show she delivered at the Turf Club. Starting out with “Black Stallion” featuring Jessy Greene on violin, James tore through six originals and a cover in her all-too-short 35 minute set. She did take the time to sing “Happy Birthday” to David de Young, adding “If you had paid me more money, I would have shown up in my birthday suit!” Her cover of Dan Israel’s “Waiting So Long” started out as a slow, steamy blues number before kicking in to the fast shuffle of the original. Her vocal versatility allows her to quickly cover a wide range of styles, from the punchy pop of “Dime A Dozen” to the caterwauling blues of “Desire”. When she finished up with “Wake Up”, the fast-building crowd roared their approval. JoAnna James has the voice and the presence to be one of the Twin Cities premiere performers.
When music historians look back at the seminal events in alternative rock history, three things will immediately spring to mind: Television’s first performance at CBGB’s, Big Star’s first album, and the debut of the David de Young Experience (hence referred to as DdYE) on Saturday, June 4th at the Turf Club. Eschewing normal conventions, such as actually practicing with the band, DdYE forged a new path in its two-song set, and may have changed music forever.
Touching on universal themes, such as girls, drinking and girls who like drinking, DdYE colored a musical palette that focused mainly on the beiges, but worked its way into the tans and even the light browns. The first song, called “I Like It”, threw both the band and the audience into momentary confusion, given that the chord structure was virtually identical to Hanson’s “MMMBop”. What was de Young trying to say here, referencing a song so identifiable to the teen-pop genre, yet subverting it for his own twisted vision? While fans around me fell into deep discussion, I think it was that G-D-C-D was just a swell sounding bunch of chords.
The second and final song “My Girlfriend Likes To Drink Too Much” was a fast-talking blues number, marred somewhat by de Young breaking a string on his guitar, but gutted out gallantly by not refusing to let a little thing like being in tune prevent him from continuing on. With JoAnna James providing increasingly desparate background vocals and Jessy Greene on equally fervent violin, the song came to a final agonizing conclusion, leaving the crowd wondering where we all went from here.
OK, seriously now. DdYE wasn’t all that bad. He sprung the songs on Joanna James’ band as he got on the stage with them, and they did their best to keep up. Which was smart – no one can fault a band for not sounding great if they never got to practice. He also smartly beat us to the punch by saying that all music journalists were frustrated musicians. In the end, no one died, no one was injured. Everyone had a good time. And that is really what it is all about.
Location Info:
The Turf Club
Artist Info: JoAnna James, Pete Hofmann, Romantica, Vicious Vicious
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