Jacob Golden @ The Cluny, Newcastle

Tour 20 Jan Mac Arts - Birmingham, UK 25 Jan London Roundhouse - London, UK 27 Jan The Cabaret Voltaire - Edinburgh 28 Jan Night & Day - Manchester, UK 29 Jan Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, UK 30 Jan Bodega - Nottingham, UK 01 Feb Soundhaus - Northampton 03 Feb The Cellars - Portsmouth 04 Feb Phoenix - Exeter, UK 05 Feb Louisiana - Bristol, UK Albums Revenge Songs [2007]

Another night at The Cluny, Newcastle's premier nightspot and another skinny white dude with bold rimmed glasses, an uber-trendy t-shirt, and a guitar. It will come as no surprise that this apparent Bright Eyes clone was born in California and has served his time in the musical prison that I imagine to be Portland, Oregan. 

 

See these days I don't want to like musicians and their bands. I want to hate them with a jealous passion. I can't sing. I can't strum a tune. I can barely write a sentence, let alone a song. But these ain't the reasons I want to detest every new act that comes my way. My hard drive is full. A few spare megabytes is a rare commodity. 

 

After Jacob Golden had sung the first two lines of Shine A Light, I mumbled a few choice words as I realised I was probably going to have to eliminate another album to squeeze in his collection of Revenge Songs. 

 

Jacob Golden referenced the friend of the outcasts, Daniel Johnston. Instantly showing his musical heritage, good taste in music, grabbing my attention and dampening my inner critic. Jacob Golden may look like a Bright Eyes clone but he sincerely isn't a Bright Eyes clone. He has a voice of his own and he wanted to share it with the Cluny. Golden went on to offer up a delightful collection of tracks spanning across his two albums, topped up with a new song called Bluebird. Although the crowd at the Cluny was sparse, the cheer produced after each song suggested otherwise. At one point it was so loud, even Golden couldn't resist letting out a woo. 

 

Hold Your Hair Back

Jacob Golden

The highlight of his self-analyatical performance had to be Bluebird. In the great traditional of folk music, it told the story of a boy confronted with a privitol moment in his life. It seemed to be very much an autobiographical piece, and was timed perfectly to match the moment Jacob truly found his voice on stage. 

 

My sister-in-law remarked that he seems so nice on stage but henched her bets that he made be a serial killer. I have to admit there is a vein of gritty realism running through his songs. 

 

Of course, the Cluny is the perfect venue for these sorts of singer-songwriter performances as it naturally promotes an personal connection with the audience. Golden was supporting The Autumns and The Kiss Away Trail. Neither band impressed me much but both bands are destined for great things as they have been labeled the next big thing by people at the BBC et all. In his three months in the UK, Golden has also supported the demonic tongued Stephaine Dosen. 

 

Feeling Like Christmas (again)

Expect a North American tour in 2008 after the completion of another UK tour. His latest album will be reviewed some time soon. 

 

If you sign up for his mailing list, you receive a free track (Hold Your Hair Back) from the album. Golden also has his own myspace page and facebook fan page...just like WHM.

In keeping with this tradition of releasing Christmas music, Jacob put a wonderful tune called 'Feeling Like Christmas (Again)' on his myspace as a free download. As a special treat, I have included it in this post (Apologies for my lame attempt at album art) but it is definitely worth heading over to his myspace page and grabbing a copy for yourself.

 

 December 23, 2007 21:00   Ryan my♥posts jacobgolden.com