Jackson Brown

tonyb

Went to see the dude last night with the wife. Always loved his music growing up and still do. We have a nice outdoor venue here in Chicago, Ravinia Park. Simply gorgeous place nestled in tree's amongst a residential neighborhood....Highland Park to be exact. Normally we sit on the lawn but opted for the Pavilion this time. Sound system was awesome inside the pavilion too.

Anyway.....he sucked. If he comes to your town, don't pony up the price. Keep in mind the guy is 66 now, missed some lyrics and a lot of notes but for the most part his voice sounded pretty good still for a man his age. What ticked me off was he made you sit threw 15 mediocre songs, with the usual small talk about saving the oceans and what a great country Haiti is, then played only 2 of his hits before closing with an Eagles song.

Yeah, an Eagles song. I want to hear some hits Jackson, wouldn't of been so bad if you mixed it up a bit. You do have a few more than 2 hits people want to hear. Not to mention....you wrote probably the best closing song for any band in "The Load out" and you don't sing it ?

Highly disappointed.....the only 2 hits he sang was "The Pretender" which he even forgot some of the lyrics and couldn't sing all that well......and "Running on empty" which he did do well with, and that was it. Not worth the price of admission, but a night out with the wife under the stars, good wine, was. IMHO.....if your not singing a good portion of your hits because of your vocal limitations, then stop touring. Know when to call it quits....and I believe the time has come for Jackson Brown to call it a day.

drumminman

He was one of my favorites back in the early to mid 70's. I still spin "Late for the Sky", my favorite of his albums. I lost interest after the album with "The Pretender" came out. His song writing went way downhill IMO. I suppose everyone has only a certain number of great songs in them.

Re: the above, I agree, know when to end it.

Did you know he started out as a member of the Eagles in the very early days? He also co-wrote "Take It Easy" with one of them, can't remember which one.

tonyb

Yep, know his history. All his song writing today seems to teeter on environmental issues and liberal causes which is a turn off. Still, I admire the man for what he has done, the artist that he is, and the music he puts out past and present. Only thing is, his present music no longer resides on my favorable side. I was expecting at least 50% of the old Jackson Brown many of us loved.....guess my expectations were set too high.

Mike Reeter

Tony, at least it was a beautiful evening to be outside and spend time with your lovely wife!

I know, you could have done that at home on the rear deck with the stereo playing for a lot less cash

MrBuhl

Agree with the touring comments above, easy to understand that you may get tired of playing the same hits, but you should remember your fans are paying to see you play those same hits - dance with the girl you brought to the dance and all IMO. And he has enough hits that he doesn't have to bring the same girl every night, I've seen many bands that do a good job of mixing them up, so its not the same show every night, but still a good cross-section no matter which night you attend.

tonyb

Mike Reeter wrote: »

Tony, at least it was a beautiful evening to be outside and spend time with your lovely wife!

I know, you could have done that at home on the rear deck with the stereo playing for a lot less cash

Amen bro....though I dunno about less cash. Usually we buy nice wine, good food, dance and make out on the deck. 100 buck bottles of wine and grass fed beef don't come cheap these days.

If Jackson would have mixed it up some, the concert would have been pretty good, but he didn't. He played what HE wanted to play, not what his FANS wanted to hear....and that's the disappointment.

gce

If the Eagle song was "Take it Easy" that was a song that Jackson started writing in 1971 for his own self-titled debut album. He was having problems finishing the song so his neighbor Glenn Frey finished the song and Jackson gave it to him for his new band.

I've never seen him in concert but always wanted to. I guess I'll just stick to his albums after your review.

cfrizz

Sorry it was such a disappointing concert Tony. I agree, these performers who refuse to play what the audience has come out for is a rip off and they are only hurting themselves.

The Eagles always play to sell out crowds because they still have what it takes to perform, and they have NO problem playing their hits. And they keep it true to what you heard on the albums.

Nothing drives me crazier than when performers decide to get all fancy with an old favorite to the point that you don't even recognize it.

westmassguy

That sucks Tony. Compare that to JT, he still has it. Saw him a few years back with the Ex at Jones Beach on Long Island. Always gives 110%.

tonyb

The Eagles know what their fans came for. Can you imagine going to a Stones concert, Zep, or Bob Seger....and them not playing at least 50% hits ?

I'm all for an artist introducing their fan base to new stuff, old stuff, stuff they never heard.....I dig it, but man, mix it up some and don't make the iffy stuff 90% of the concert. That's all I'm sayin'. Jackson Brown needs to re-think his approach if he doesn't want to be singing Carnivals in his future.