Thursday, November 26, 2009

Joe Purdy: A man, a piano, a guitar, and a beard

Joe Purdy- Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA, 11.19.09

First off, my apologies for writing a week after the concert. It's been an extremely busy, but fun week and I'm just now getting some time to catch my breath. Anyway... on with the review.

So for those not familiar with Joe Purdy, he's a fantastic singer/songwriter from Arkansas. Hardworking doesn't even begin to describe this man. Over the course of the last 8 years, Joe Purdy has released 10 full length albums, his latest "The Last Clock on the Wall" in Spring 2009. Nearly all of those releases have been independent. He must write continuously! You may be familiar with a few of his songs from commercials, of all things. "Wash Away" is featured on a Dawn dish soap commercial, and "Can't Get It Right Today" on an Autism PSA. Check out the Autism PSA, the song fits very well in the commercial's message!

Joe played for over two hours to a sold out crowd. I don't know if I can remember being at a show with an audience so attentive to every word coming from the performer's mouth. They were extremely respectful, and you could tell that everyone was anxious to get as much of Joe Purdy's music as possible. It was just him, and a guitar, and a piano... simple. He might as well have been in your living room.

Over the course of his set, which must have consisted of at least 20 songs, I was surprised that he pulled out a good deal of new material. I mean the guy has approximately 100 different songs he's written in the last 8 years and an album that is only about 6 months old. But that's what I love about Joe Purdy. He performs and writes what he's feeling. You never get the sense from him, that he's there to sell you something or push an album. He's passionate about what he does, and he's constantly evolving his music.

Many of Joe's songs tell stories, and in this kind of setting the stories seem so real. "Outlaws", one of my favorites, is about a man who meets a woman at a bar and they fall in love while on a crime spree. Basically, it's a great Western movie in a song. Another, "Santa Rosa" is about being stuck in a snowstorm in New Mexico on New Year's. However, my favorite ballad of the night was a new song called "The Ballplayer". Joe plays it at the piano and it tells the story of a struggling ballplayer (shocking) and how his struggles with his career effects his personal relationships. You can find a link to the video of the song performed a couple nights later in Nashville, at the bottom of the page. It's a beautiful song.

The regular set included favorites such as "Secret", "You Can Tell Georgia" and "Ode To Sad Clown." The encore was really fun to watch. Basically, Joe came out and simply asked the audience to shout out their requests and he would try to play them. He would entertain all the options then select one. Many times you could see him working through the lyrics and chord progressions in his head, trying to recall which of the 100 songs it was. During "The Sun", an adamant fan request, Joe had to stop and make up some lyrics, which made for a pretty humorous moment for all.

If you're looking for a high energy kind of concert, you probably aren't going to find it at a Joe Purdy show. But, if you're looking for some great laid back music, that is written with passion and honesty, Joe Purdy is the show for you. His songs are very easy to relate to, and have been integral parts of the soundtrack I would use for my life. In fact, I was making a playlist of my favorite Joe Purdy songs to share with a friend... 25 songs later I still felt like I was leaving some important songs out. I hope you have a chance to check him out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk3wfXwrXCA

Happy Thanksgiving! Josh Ritter next week!

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