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Simon Joyner, Kelli Shay Hix, Paper Hats – House Show, 03/27/10

 Concerts, Off Topic
Mar 262010
 

East Nashville House Show Saturday March 27th, 2010
2914 Glenmeade Drive, east Nashville, 37216
10:00pm: Kelli Shay Hix + Friends
10:40pm: Paper Hats
11:30pm: Simon Joyner

Yesterday evening, I received this press release from friend-of-Theatre-Intangible Kelli Shay Hix:

I’m pleased to announce a special house show this Saturday, March 27th: Simon Joyner is making a stop in Nashville on his perfectly named Living Rooms and Discreet Spaces tour, 2010.

Since 1993, Joyner has been putting out records that have been linked to the “bedroom music” thing that gained momentum in the 1990’s, and the Omaha music scene that includes the iconic Saddlecreek Records. In support of his new album, Out Into The Snow, Joyner is touring, but is skipping the bars and rock clubs and playing only in the stage-less art spaces, living rooms, and whatchamacallits that can be so beneficial to the listening experience. So we are happy to have him.

I’m a little bit ashamed to admit I hadn’t heard of Simon Joyner before I’d received this press release. I checked out some of his songs, and promptly picked up my jaw after it dropped to the floor.  Have I been on Mars?  In all my years of listening to music, this was one of the very few times where I was compelled to buy his music on-the-spot.  Joyner haunts the same spaces as Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen — yes, his voice is THAT good.  So it was to some surprise when I began to read some of the Amazon reviews:

Every once and a while I’ll hear an album that is so derivative that it is almost laughable. This CD is one of them. Mr. Joyner is obviously a decent and creative songwriter but his deadpan Townes Meets Leonard delivery is just too phoney to handle-especially on the nine+ minute opener.

Um.  No.  I hear lots of singers who try to mimic someone else’s voice (especially in the Nashville area.  Like The Killers much guys?), but Simon is definitely not one of them.  His voice does bear resemblance to Cohen (but closer to Reed IMHO), but it’s not because he’s trying to.  That’s the timbre he has to work with.  What he DOES bring to the table is character of the rarest form and that intangible quality that draws me in on the first listen.  So it puzzles me (and I’m not being sarcastic, this TRULY puzzles me) when Amazon reviewers say things like this:

How this joker got a record deal is far beyond me. The guy couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. He has to be tone deaf because when he sings he is either sharp or flat and rarely in key. His songs are very irritating to listen to but I suppose you could put him on if you ever need to drive someone out of your house. Just awful! He and his label boss Conor Oberst have got to be the two worst singers I’ve ever heard in my life… Heck, William Hung could sing circles around those two. Ugggh!

And this little gem:

If you ever have un-wanted guests in your home and you want them to leave just put this recording on and they will be out the door pronto. This has to be one of the worst singers I have ever heard in my life. Being forced to listen to Simon Joyner would qualify for torture. Horrible!

Either their heads are screwed on wrong or mine is.  My idea of a good singer has more to do with sincerity, character, and how well she evokes a mood than with pitch perfection and Maria-Carey-belting.  You know . . . singers like Iris Dement, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Jolie Holland, and Joanna Newsom.  But I suppose if the world thought like me Will Sheff would be crowned the American Idol long ago.  What do you guys think?

The point you should be getting from all of this is that if you think like I do, there’s only one place you need to be tomorrow night: a cozy East Nashville bungalow listening to one of the most enigmatic singers alive . . . at least the most enigmatic that you’ll ever see in a bedroom.  Be sure and arrive early for Paper Hats and the always-wonderful Kelli Shay Hix.  One of these days we’ll get her on a Theatre Intangible improv, one of these days. . .

  • I’d never heard of this guy either, so I acquired a copy of “The Cowardly Traveler Pays His Toll” in the usual way. I’d read that this was supposed to have especially caught the attention of John Peel. I enjoy a ragged voice every so often, but I have to have some pretty good music to carry it– unfortunately, Joyner doesn’t seem to be my thing. The track “Target” is pretty decent, and might be closer to what you’re hearing; I have no idea. The other ones just don’t seem to catch me at all. I’ve got a couple more things of his to work through, so we’ll see how that goes.

    On the other hand, I’ve got to take back all the bad things I used to say about Lucinda Williams– mostly in jest, to be sure– but she’s damn good. You know darn well I like Neil Young (just got “On the Beach” from my grandpa!) and Joanna Newsom is a favorite around here. You can keep Iggy Pop, though– outside of “The Passenger,” I’ve got no interest in his catalog.

    BTW, check this out– http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Karen_Cooper_Complex/Shinjuku_Birdwalk/ …I’m recommending the 5th cut, “Lollipops/Simmer Down”… but you might have to let the others play first to acclimate to the bizarre mood they’ve got going. At any rate, it was working for me last night at 1 in the morning, haha.

  • And oh, I love Leonard Cohen too. Even the terrible albums that sound like some karaoke nut made all the music.