~”There’s got to be some hero in ‘we’ “
Last night I had the extreme priviledge to see Jeffrey Gaines play at the TLA. This is the third time I’ve seen him live now, and every time I see him I come away thinking he’s even more incredible than the last time. He has such an indomitably positive spirit, he connects with the audience on a very down-to-earth, personal level: he puts up no guard on stage, even when he’s not playing. He reminds me a lot of Pierre Roberre, actually. I’d love to see the two of them together — that would be something to see, or even just to hear.
For the longest time I only knew Jeffrey Gaines as the guy who did that excellent acoustic cover of Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes that was on the radio a few years back. Then last year I went to see Duncan Sheik play at the College of New Jersey, and it was a co-bill with Jeffrey Gaines opening for Duncan. Interesting, I thought.
Well, I went to see Duncan, but Jeffrey stole the show. Even though it was just he and his guitar, his playing was intense, his music thick; what he channeled through guitar and voice alone just reached out and grabbed me. Wow. Just wow.
That wasn’t the only thing that impressed me about him, though. He was impressive, because he was such a charasmatic guy, and it showed even through extenuating circumstances. During one song, he broke a string and had to stop. He had no guitar tech, so he had to restring the broken one himself, but he kept up a running dialog the whole time, joking with us and telling stories. He got into this one story so much that he even stopped restringing for a minute to tell it. Just some of that awesomely indomitable spirit he possesses.
So he finished restringing, went back into the song, and the same string broke again. Didn’t break his stride in the least. He restrung again, told some more funny stories, and I don’t think the whole thing detracted from the performance at all. Rather, I think it added to it. It’s just so evident from how he carries himself that he’s really into what he’s doing, he’s glad to be there, and he’s glad that we’re there with him, too.
That was my first real exposure to Jeffrey Gaines.
By comparison, Duncan, who I had never yet seen before either, was really laid back and dreamy, starry-eyed and his head up in the clouds — completely different stage personality. He’s an excellent performer and it’s clear he enjoys what he’s doing, but Jeffrey has it all over Duncan when it comes to stage presence and sheer personality.
Still, I’m a loyal fan of both; I’ve seen Duncan four times since that first April show, and Jeffrey three. Last night was the first time I bought one of Jeffrey’s albums, though; unlike Duncan, I’ve come to know and love his music live, and not from his studio recordings which pale in comparison to the real deal. I’m especially excited by last night’s show, not because he played for over three hours (or because I got him to sign my cd), but because it was being taped for a forthcoming live album. I can’t wait to get my hands on that; that’s definitely the way to experience Jeffrey Gaines. I just hope that they’re smart enough to leave in some of the banter which is an essential part of the whole Jeffrey Gaines experience.