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Words by: John Reed
Joan Jett :: 10.13.06 :: Avalon :: Boston, MA
Joan Jett |
While most things in Rock change and evolve, and not always for the better, Joan Jett pretty much stays the same.
As she has been in the game for nearly 30 years now, she has had many chances to sell out, sex-it-up, or jump at one of the numerous Runaways reunion tour offers. But she has instead chosen to keep her standards and marched at her own power-chord-driven path, and her reputation in the rock world has remained remarkably in tact.
Playing to a near-capacity crowd at the legendary Avalon club in Boston on October 13th, Jett literally ripped through a 20-song set that was, as her manager Kenny Laguna promised, an "amazing balance of songs from her popular catalogue alongside cuts from her new amazing CD, Sinner."
Looking fit and appearing physically unchanged, Jett and her latest incarnation of the Blackhearts sounded amazingly tight, which is unusual as this was only the second date of her current fall/winter tour, which kicked off the night before in Philadelphia.
Dougie Needles - Blackhearts |
In an unexpected move two songs into her set, Jett tore into the familiar and killer opening riffs of the Runaways classic "Cherry Bomb." While she often plays it live, its appearance early was unexpected. While one would expect that for an encore, it was a great choice and brought the initially semi-sedated Boston audience to their full attention.
As promised, Jett peppered the set with some great re-workings of classics like "Do You Wanna Touch" and "Bad Reputation," which has become extra cool to hear as it was the theme song to the cult classic TV show Freaks and Geeks. An unexpectedly raw and powerful rendition of her ode to obsessed love, "I Hate Myself for Lovin' You," was also on the mark, as was Jett's passionate delivery. You could almost see her channeling the self-loathing with which the main character in the song is obviously battling.
And while Jett has been famous in the past for her interpretations of other artists' songs, she brought out a couple of new ones from Sinner. Her hot cover of Sweet's "A.C.D.C." and The Replacements' "Androgynous" fit in well with her set, and she even managed to best Sweet's original vision of the song - no small feat!
Joan Jett |
While Jett got a bit political at times, complete with sound bites from George W. Bush himself, she also got as primal as she could on the lyrically hard "Fetish." Though the song was seemingly lost on some audience members, it was a reminder of how Jett can get as down and dirty as any male in the game.
And of course, she would be the first to tell you that she has a top-notch backing band in her Blackhearts. The ever-reliable Dougie Needles was restrained and flashy when he had to be on his lead guitar licks while drummer Thommy Price kept the
pace of the set in high gear as his drumming was, as always, powerful yet tasteful, kicking in hard when needed (as on "I Love Rock and Roll") and restrained when he should be ("Crimson and Clover").
Her set was rounded out appropriately with a cover of the Boston-laced lyrics of Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" and the show-ending take on Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People." While hardly a rock song in its original form, Jett transformed the track so well in 1983 that over the years it has become identified almost as much with her as it is with Sly.
Maybe it is considered her song now because it sums her up so well. Jett is a rock chick, and that is all she wants to be. By ducking many lucrative offers to sell her songs to commercials and by not appearing in the many (no doubt cheesy) movie offers that have come her way, she continues to be that rarest of artist that truly represents musical integrity.
JOAN JETT and the BLACKHEARTS on tour with EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
10.20 | Bogart's | Cincinnati, OH
10.21 | Agora Theatre | Cleveland, OH
10.23 | First Avenue | Minneapolis, MN
10.26 | The Vic Theatre | Chicago, IL
10.27 | Mississippi Nights | St. Louis, MO
10.31 | Big Easy | Spokane, WA
11.01 | The Showbox | Seattle, WA
11.02 | Roseland Theater | Portland, OR
11.04 | The Fillmore | San Francisco, CA
11.06 | House of Blues | San Diego, CA
11.07 | Henry Fonda Theatre | Los Angeles, CA
11.08 | House of Blues | Anaheim, CA
11.10 | House of Blues | Las Vegas, NV
11.11 | Marquee Theatre | Tempe, AZ
11.13 | Gypsy Tea Room | Dallas, TX
11.14 | Stubb's BBQ | Austin, TX
11.17 | House of Blues | Orlando, FL
11.18 | Roxy Theatre | Atlanta, GA
11.19 | Orange Peel | Asheville, NC
11.24 | Northern Lights | Clifton Park, NY (w/out Eagles of Death Metal)
11.25 | House of Blues | Atlantic City, NJ (w/out Eagles of Death Metal)
12.02 | Irving Plaza | New York, NY (w/out Eagles of Death Metal)
12.09 | Hard Rock Cafe | Santo Domingo, DR (w/out Eagles of Death Metal)
03.24 | Center for the Arts | Staten Island, NY (w/out Eagles of Death Metal)
JamBase | Boston
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