Jerry Joseph | 08.28 – 08.30 | Montana
By Team JamBase Sep 18, 2009 • 3:22 pm PDT

Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons :: 08.28.09 – 08.30.09 :: Banditos :: Virginia City, MT
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The soundman was Jeff Lord-Alge, who is no stranger to Jerry’s sound. Jeff has mastered the sometimes-confounding aspects of a Jackmormons show with brilliance. Songs like “War At the End Of The World” and “What I Lived For” really shined through and allowed the full range of Joseph’s singing to be appreciated. Even the rig Jeff packed in blew Banditos owner Scott Kelly away. “You should see the size of the fucking rig he hauled in here,” Kelly exclaimed on Friday night. The lights that Jeff also runs add just the right accents and textures to the setting. One might think that this contributes very little to the sound at the show, but Jerry seemed to appreciate the lighting. He even commented that “the lights sound great” between songs. Maybe it is a quid pro quo of sorts, where the lighting can ramp up the audience, and the audience can definitely ramp up the performers.
As an added treat for the live album, fans were blessed to have drummer Steve Drizos‘ wife Jenny Conlee-Drizos sitting in on keys for all three nights. Jenny was on loan to the Jackmormons from her main gig with The Decemberists. At times bassist JR Ruppel turned towards Jenny, walking her through some of the changes in a song.
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When talking about the direction of the band Steve Drizos said, “Sometimes you can’t even drive it; you just hang on for the ride.” Joseph has become a master of melody, and his melodic evolution finds Jerry tinkering with his songs and enjoying himself more onstage.
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Saturday opened with “War At The End Of the World.” Fitting, since for some people Virginia City is as close to the end of world as one can get. Cell phones don’t work here. Internet? Just forget about it; even the hotel doesn’t have reception. “Pumpkin Time” may have been spurred by the placement of a wayward flip-flop by Jerry’s monitor, an event that caused some joking among the band. Closing out the second set was a recently added combination, “Chainsaw City” followed by The Cure‘s “Fascination Street.” The band preformed this pairing for the first time just after New Years 2008, and the combination works beautifully, with Jerry’s revision of The Cure tune not be missed.
“Spin City” > “North” > “Spin City” contained Saturday’s only example of the aforementioned “master of melody” approach with Lou Reed’s “Walk on The Wild Side” chorus being lightly inserted. The end of the second set was time for them to start rolling out the big guns. “North” turned into an all out slugfest. “Ask me if I give a FUCK,” barked the audience, drowning out even the reverberating amps. The pauses in this song have begun to take on a life of their own. They occur with greater frequency in more and more of the versions of “North.” Very few things represent a well-oiled band than a nice good old fashioned pause in the middle of a song. Panic’s “Walkin'” or “Good People” spring to mind as obvious comparisons.
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The final highlights of another “Good Sunday” in Virginia City were an all out mash-up in the second set. The rants during “New Psychology of Love” gave way to The Rolling Stones’ “Beast Of Burden” – a fitting combination to say the least. “Way Too Loud,” a Jerry original written with a little help from Bloodkin‘s Danny Hutchens was augmented with U2’s “Mysterious Ways.” “It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright,” coxed Jerry as he led us into a pockmarked, bone jarring, high speed race down the “Road to Damascus.” Closing out the second set, we slowed down a little for a sandwich of Neil Young’s “Comes A Time” with a “Mohawk” right down the middle. Finally, Jerry closed the cover laden Sunday performance with “Both Of You” split open with a very heavy rendition of the chorus of Eric Clapton’s “Let It Grow.”
The album is tentatively titled Live @ Banditos and will be Jerry’s sixth live album. It will be the second live album that the Jackmormons have recorded in Montana, Mouthful Of Copper being the first, back in 2002 at the now defunct Irish Times bar in Butte. While issues such as who will release it and when it will be released are still very much up in the air, one thing’s for sure: three nights in Virginia City provided more than enough material for a double (or triple?) disc release.
Jerry’s riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave between Stockholm Syndrome, his solo work and the Jackmormons. And those of you who did not make it to Virginia City this time, you’re running out of excuses. Virginia City, Banditos Bar and Jerry Joseph are a trifecta not to be missed. Walking around the bar before the show I overheard people discussing fly fishing on the Madison, and I bagged three 10,500 foot peaks that day. So, if you got to start budgeting now to head on up “North” and start “Shooting Up the Neighborhood” next year in Virginia City, DO IT!
Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons tour dates available here.
Continue reading for more pics of Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons in Montana…
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