Warren Zevon with Jill Sobule ~ 2000 December 3 ~ Pearl Street ~ Northampton, MA
Warren Zevon, vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica; Jill Sobule, vocals and guitar, opening set
Set List (Warren Zevon)
(guitar:) Lawyers Guns & Money - I Was In the House When the House Burned Down - Boom Boom Mancini - (keyboard:) Excitable Boy - Seminole Bingo - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner - Don't Let Us Get Sick - Hit Somebody - (guitar) Carmelita - Lift Us Up Where We Belong (with Jill) - Honky Tonk Women (with Jill) ... intermission ... (piano) "L.A. Suite": Frank & Jessie James - Hasten Down the Wind - French Inhaler - Desperadoes Under the Eaves - (guitar) Woke Up This Morning (with Jill) - My Shit's Fucked Up - Poor Poor Pitiful Me - Play It All Night Long - (piano) For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer - Werewolves of London
Set List (Jill Sobule opening set)
Merry Christmas from the Family - Kathie Lee - Karen By Night - Youthful Indiscretions - Jetpack - Mexican Wrestler - I Kissed a Girl (with Warren Zevon) - Sunrise Sunset {from Fiddler on the Roof} - Sister Christian {Night Ranger} - Gin and Juice {Snoop Dogg} - Good Person Inside - Rock Me To Sleep
Concert Review
Warren Zevon played a solo show at this unassuming nightclub, accompanying himself with guitar, electric piano, and harmonica. Warren wasn't feeling at all well, with a cold or maybe the flu, but he soldiered on bravely through a generous 22-song set drawing from all eras of his career, from the early eponymous album up to the more recent mature recordings. After he had finished "Play It All Night Long," he commented that if he tried to go off stage and come back on, it was likely he would pass out, so he was just going to stay on stage. He told the audience to pretend he had gone off stage, that they had cheered wildly, and that he came back on for the encore.
The show was extra good because of the presence of the fabulous Jill Sobule, who opened the show and joined Warren on backing vocals on a few songs that suited their talents as a duet. A duet album between these two talented and unconventional singer/songwriters would be a dream come true. Jill came on to open the show, took the microphone in her hand, and said to the audience: "I need someone to introduce me." She held the microphone in front of me and I ad libbed: "Northampton welcomes Jill Sobule!" She performed a handful of her better-known songs and a short medley of wildly varying covers, ranging from the Fiddler on the Roof musical to rapper Snoop Dogg! She has a very melodic singing voice and plays a miniature travel guitar.
One highlight of the show was when Warren joined Jill on stage to sing on her best-known song, "I Kissed a Girl." With Warren taking some of the lead vocal, and making some faces while he sang, this lighthearted and cheerful ode to a same-sex encounter took on a humorously gender-bending storyline.
Pearl Street is an unassuming nightclub in downtown Northampton just around the corner from the better-known Iron Horse. It was set up as a standing venue for this show, which I always prefer. While waiting in line outside in the cold, concert goers entertained one another with stories of other times they've seen Warren or how they first came to love his music. Warren Zevon is a singer/songwriter with an avid underground following, and in my opinion, his songwriting and performing skills are better than they've ever been.