Jill Sobule ~ 2009 May 9 ~ Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Jill Sobule accompanying herself on guitar.
Setlist
Where is Bobbie Gentry - The Rapture - Trains - Palm Springs - Lucy at the Gym - Wendell Lee - It Was a Good Life - Heroes - Karen By Night - New Mexico - Angel/Asshole - Spiderman - I Kissed a Girl - Jetpack - Cinnamon Park - Margaret - Nothin' to Prove ... encore ... Now That I Don't Have You - Bitter
Review
Jill Sobule played a solo show at one of the best music venues anywhere, the Iron Horse Music Hall, a two-story venue nestled in this very hip western Massachusetts college town.
When I first saw Jill perform, some years ago when she opened for Warren Zevon, I thought she had wicked stage fright, but it turns out she just has a nervous condition that gives her shaky hands. She is really an extremely confident and skilled performer, who can engage an audience with the best of them. Her modest humor and guitar playing skill set her a notch above many other female singer/songwriters. She plays a miniature travel guitar, but don't let that fool you; the instrument has great sound, and she plays it beautifully.
She opened with a track from her new album (California Years), "Where is Bobbie Gentry?" While this is a superb, easy singalong, it strikes me it might seem a little dated for a show in a college town. I suspect a good number of the attendees really have no idea who Bobbie Gentry was. No matter, the rest of the show moved along nicely with a fair mix of uptempo songs mixed in with Jill's contemplative, introspective numbers and a few that include some pretty good humor. For instance, "The Rapture," a song in which Jill addresses a religious zealot, "how about L. Ron Hubbard? What if he was right?" Another new song was "It Was a Good Life," an upbeat toe-tapper about the end of the world.
More Jill
Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Jill Sobule.
Click for 2009 Concert Page with links to all 2009 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years