Yorn is the Real Thing

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:
a dark, bold amber ale

Pete Yorn sings to a sold-out crowd at the Birchmere on August 8. It was a solid and refreshing two-hour set.


[ClubD wishes to thank Olsson's in Dupont for donating a copy of Yorn's EP, Westerns. Yorn's attempt at rockabilly is nothin' short of fantastic.]

If I was stranded on a deserted island and allowed to bring only one cd (assuming I also had a disc player and long-lasting batteries), I might very well chose Pete Yorn's first album, Music for the Morning After. It's a disc I can listen to from start to finish probably hundreds of times in a row without tiring of it. It didn't leave my single-disc player in my car for months after i first heard it, in fact.

Yorn focused heavily on that album on his summer acoustic tour to promote the upcoming release of his third album, Nightcrawler, on August 29. He's scheduled to go on a full band, full-throttle tour with it this fall.

He began the set solo acoustic, playing a few songs including the deep cut, "Sleep Better," from his debut album. When introducing that album's first track, "Life on a Chain," he mentioned he'd been trying to get a record deal for years and after playing that song for a Columbia Records exec, he finally sealed the deal. Yorn was then joined by a keyboard player for several songs who he said he'd played with back at Syracuse University in a 'hair band' and they remained friends and bandmates.

It's refreshing how understated Yorn is; he's so gracious and modest, as if always recalling his humble roots and thankful to have broken into a career he loves. He may look like Jim Morrisson on stage, but he is introverted and soft-spoken up there, as if he was sitting chatting with you in your living room.
The acoustic duo grew into a quartet by mid-show and they began rocking out. The New Jersey boy recalled those humble roots in song, covering Springsteen's "Atlantic City," then rolled it into his rockin' song, "Murray," a tribute to Murray Wilson, father to the Beach Boys.

He also played two songs from his new EP "Westerns," only available at his shows. His foray into country-rock is a success. One of these songs he wrote for Nancy Sinatra then decided to record it himself and promised the audience that the song, titled, "Don't Mean Nothing," was not the Rick Astley tune by the same name. It's quite prolific, in fact: "It don't mean nothin', till ya figure out what it means." Good point.

The few songs he offered up from his new album sounded quite good and complete the trilogy. This versatile talent with the sultry voice, calm demeanor, and rugged good looks left fans quite happy, anticipating the new album and the fall tour. This fan has since popped Yorn's first album back in the cd player where it will soon compete with the new disc.

SETLIST (The Birchmere, August 8, from Yorn's website)

PY solo acoustic: Intro > For Nancy
Friend of the Devil* (*Grateful Dead cover) > Life on a Chain
Sleep Better

PY & Joe K.:
Undercover
Bandstand in the Sky
June

PY, Joe K., Sid & Mal
Alive
Long Way Down
Pass Me By
Ask* (*The Smiths cover)
Atlantic City* (*Bruce Springsteen cover) > Murray
Just Another
Burrito
Don't Mean Nothing
The Good Advice
Turn of the Century
Georgie Boy
Closet
For Us

Encore: PY & Joe K.:
Lose You
Full Band:
Broken Bottle
Strange Condition
Suspicious Minds* (*Elvis Presley cover)
Crystal Village
I Feel Good Again* (*Junior Kimbrough cover)