Jez Lowe ~ 2017 September 29 ~ Me and Thee Coffeehouse ~ Marblehead, MA
Jez Lowe, vocals, guitar, cittern, mandolin, harmonica; opening set by Shawna Caspi, vocals and guitar
Set List
Jez played guitar on every song except where noted. [CH] = cittern & harmonica; [M] = mandolin.
Tether's End - Taking On Men - Pitmen Poets - Bother at the Hoppins [CH] - The Bergen - Black Diamonds ... interval ... Will of the People - Last of the Widows - Austerity Alphabet - Wrong Bus [M] - Dover Delaware - Wagga Moon [CH] - The Elves Have Left the Building - Old Bones - Fan Dancer's Daughter - Nobody Wants To Be My Facebook Friend - High Part of the Town ... encore ... Hands Feet
Scroll down past the videos for review of the show.
Videos
Taking On Men
Wagga Moon
Review
Jez Lowe, folkie road warrior from northeast England, delighted the crowd at the Me & Thee with an 18 song set featuring many new songs from his last couple of studio releases, as well as time-tested older favorites. He played left-handed acoustic guitar on most songs, and also cittern, mandolin, and harmonica (or "mouth organ" as Jez calls it) on a scattering of songs.
Among Jez's strengths are his sense of melody, musicianship, very strong songwriting, demonstrative eyebrows, and striped shirt. The eyebrows work together with a range of facial expressions to convey humor and a whole range of human emotions. His audience banter, like his songs themselves, covers a range of emotions from the serious to the very funny.
Songs of social justice mixed with songs about life in northern England, a ballad of maritime tragedy, coal mining songs, songs about other industries of the area, anti-war songs, and even a humorous Christmas song. Jez Lowe is one of the best at writing funny songs, and in my opinion, he puts humor in a serious song better than just about any other songwriter.
The evening was begun by singer/songwriter Shawna Caspi who performed a short set of only about four songs. She was very good and was well received by the audience. Jez came on immediately after her short set and played six songs before taking a break. Thus, the first set was a combo of a short set by the opener and a short set by the headliner. (I think this is the way the Me & Thee organizes their shows.) Jez played a longer second set after the interval (or intermission as Americans would call it).
The Me and Thee Coffeehouse is a nice place to see a concert. Church pews accommodate the concert goers, and coffee and goodies are for sale in the back room. There is plenty of nearby on-street parking, assuming you get there early enough, but this is Marblehead so be sure you know the way out of town or else you'll wind up in Lynn or Revere. I picked up a copy of Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies's Christmas album as well as a live album by The Pitmen Poets, Jez's four-man band who perform songs written by and in tribute to the coal miners of the old days.
Click for 2017 Concert Page with links to all 2017 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years