Joseph Arthur: A One Man Band With A World Of Sound

Last night was our first foray into WXPN's World Cafe Live, and we'd just like to say it is a delightful venue for seeing a show. The downstairs space is simultaneously spacious and intimate; the two separate stages are so well insulated that unless you wander out into the common areas you'd never know there was more than one concert going on; and the table service was friendly, attentive, and carried out by an adorable wait staff - all of whom looked like indie musicians themselves. (Knowing XPN's dedication to local and independent artists, there's a good chance they are all independent musicians). Kudos, XPN, for a fab setup.

The show was opened by Austin-bred musician Jeff Klein, whose look reminded us of Jack White and whose voice evoked the gravelly tones of a young (if somewhat somnambulistic) Bruce Springsteen. Unfortunately, when the audience is quickly able to determine the artist the current performer reminds them of - it's a pretty good indication that they aren't doing anything new or original. This was disappointingly true of Klein, who himself seemed aware of his lackluster performance. He filled the silences between songs with the strangely-charming, cock-sure banter musicians often rely on when trying to win audiences over. Half-way through his set, he acknowledged the subdued nature of his performance, citing the fact that he was not accustomed to playing acoustically or without a band. Fair enough. Our reception was equally subdued.

The distracted energy of the audience changed when headliner Joseph Arthur made his way onto stage. A visual artist as well as a writer/musician, Arthur opened his set by beginning a painting on a large canvas at the rear of the stage - a painting he added to, bit by bit, during the show. (He paints, he writes and he sings; had he only developed a new school of philosophy and / or invented something during his act, we'd happily dub him a Renaissance Man). Then he stepped up to the microphone, put on his guitar, and began to sing. He sang without banter, without beverages and without breaks. Well, that's not true. He paused once during his 65 minute set to say a quick 'thank you' to the audience between songs. Marveling at his ability to sing without stopping, we began to suspect that he is, in fact, some sort of musical robot; The Terminator of the singer/songwriter set.

Robot or no, Arthur's performance is spellbinding. His unassuming posture and an expressive voice work together to create a captivating stage presence, which he enhanced by subtle lighting and far-from-subtle digital effects. Phillyist has become accustomed to seeing solo performers accompany themselves on stage through the use of a sequencer (they seem de rigueur these days) - but Arthur had more than that in his bag of tricks. Besides the sequencer, he had an array of pedals, a snythesizer, and numerous other devices we couldn't see from our seats (and likely couldn't identify even if we could). Close your eyes, and you could easily believe there was a four-piece band on-stage. Arthur is a full ensemble unto himself.

Where Klein's set was sleepy, Arthur's was almost dreamlike in nature; leading the audience from one disparate musical influence to another (styles ranged from sentimental singer-songwriter folk to 80s synth pop to grunge to electro-rock folk to soulfully reflective) - and although each new song seemed stylistically disconnected from it's predecessor- - together it all made perfect sense. Even his cover of The Smiths There is a Light That Never Goes Out during the encore refused to feel out of place.

It has been said that Joseph Arthur's varied musical style is holding him back. We understand how it might be a pain-in-the-ass for the marketing and PR set; he is too versatile to be pigeon-holed into one genre. It would be a misnomer to call him a "pop musician", or a "folk musician" or a "rock musician." We suggest everyone gets over the labeling issue and call him simply call him "a musician." And a damn fine one at that.

Image courtesy: Yeworld.net