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Glenn Tilbrook: The Memorial Pub Tour
Glenn Tilbrook plays the songwriter's game to perfection in Music City.
27 mei 2002, The Bluebird, Nashville (USA)
Tekst: Dave Weil
Publicatiedatum: 11 juni 2002
In America, there are several things that you normally do on Memorial Day. You can throw a barbecue party, have a picnic, participate in a veterans parade, or, if you were in Nashville this year, you could have gone to The Bluebird Cafe to see Glenn Tilbrook, with Steve Poltz as the opener. Being the intrepid KindaMuzik reporter that I am, I forced myself to give up the trip to the cemetery and ponied up to join another 150 people (believe it or not, a full house) to sample some bottles of Bass Ale and enjoy a very relaxed and often funny show. My duty was clear.
Tilbrook's been touring the country on his "pub tour," living out of an RV and playing nothing but tiny venues, and Nashville was the last stop before returning to the UK.
First up was Steve Poltz, who I knew mainly as the writer of Jewel's You Were Meant For Me and Everything About You, off of the Notting Hill soundtrack. The manic Mr. Poltz was a fun surprise, offering some bouncy and jaunty tunes, but his big strength was his humorous introductions and the sense of humor present in his songs, as when he turned the Jewel song into a "guy's song" by replacing the line "Break the yolks, make a smiley face" with "Break the yolks with a goddamn fork." An accomplished acoustic guitarist, he also has a distinctive voice and was a real blast. He dedicated Waterfalls to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and did a great version of the Prince song, complete with a perfect rap. Not bad for a slacker white guy...
After a short intermission (if only all shows were like this), it was time for the unpretentious and affable Mr. Tilbrook, who delighted the faithful with a full cross-section of his career. From Take Me I'm Yours, off of the first Squeeze album, and Touching Me Touching You, Goodbye Girl, and Up The Junction from their second LP, Cool For Cats, he also touched their more quiet periods, playing Truth from the album Play and Melody Motel from Frank and did a song from Some Fantastic Place. Still, he managed to include most of the fan favorites as well: classic songs like Is That Love, Tempted, Black Coffee In Bed, Another Nail In My Heart, as well as the lesser commercially known great songs like Vanity Fair, Labelled With Love, Vicky Verky, and Separate Beds.
Tilbrook also covered songs from his solo career, including a fine song that he co-wrote with Ron Sexsmith called By The Light Of The Cash Machine. My favorite was the hilarious rave-up Interviewing Randy Newman, in which he describes the second "panic attack" of his life, which came about when he interviewed Newman for BBC Radio. The song details the perils of thinking that you've done your homework as an interviewer and then totally blanking when confronted with the interview subject. Drop-dead funny and a little uncomfortable — much like watching a train wreck.
Tilbrook's been inviting audiences to venture outside the venues for impromptu campfire singalongs, and tonight was no exception. We all
wandered out to the parking lot (I think that Glenn was taken a little
aback by the non-exuberant nature of the Nashville audience), and
there we were treated to a rousing audience singalong of Pulling
Mussels (From The Shell), with him grinning when we came to the more
difficult bits. Never has a song with such a charming metaphor for
cunnilingus been sung before in a Nashville parking lot — at least I don't
think Hank ever did it that way.
It's amazing how many great songs Tillbrook has had a hand in writing, and the solo venue offered a great chance to experience the depth and breadth of his output. Having said that, he still managed to find time to "squeeze" in several covers: from a shouted-out request of Wichita Lineman, to another request for Willie Nelson, which he complied with by doing a charming version of You Were Always On My Mind, complete with a Willie-esque, halting, Spanish-tinged guitar solo. Plus, he called Steve Poltz back onstage to sing the song that he co-wrote with Elvis Costello, From A Whisper (To A Scream), which was a nice surprise.
Tilbrook has one of the most distinctive and evocative voices in pop music, and it's well served in the intimate confines of the smaller "pub." He hasn't lost a step, and his voice is still playing those serpentine games that has made him one of pop's greatest tunesmiths.
One nice touch is that Tilbrook always asks for applause from the absent Chris Difford, and tonight was no exception.
His label is Quixotic Records. Instead of a donkey, he's riding an RV across the land (the mechanical beast being a bit of an ass, according to him). Instead of Pancho Villa, he has his manager Suzanne, and instead of windmills, it's memories that he's tilting at. Sweet dreams are made of this indeed.
http://www.kindamuzik.net/live/glenn-tilbrook/glenn-tilbrook-the-memorial-pub-tour/1622/
Meer Glenn Tilbrook op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/glenn-tilbrook
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