Aussie mojo

If you're an Eskimo Joe fan and missed out on their show tonight in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then sucks to be you because not only did they play a great but short (around 35 mins) gig, but they hung out and mingled with the crowd afterwards. That's right, I was literally rubbing shoulders with Kav, Joel, Stu and the others.

The venue was TT the Bears, a small grungy venue with a tiny stage that puts the audience right up close to the musicians. The turn-up was small, no more than 50 odd people, and I'd guess that at least half of them were Aussies. It was kinda bizarre that Eskimo Joe, a famous band in Australia who have played to tens of thousands of people at major festivals like Big Day Out were playing in such a dingy place. The crazier thing is that they weren't even the headline act, but were supporting some totally crappy American band called Stars of Track and Field. After Eskimo Joe finished their set, about half the audience bailed (presumably the Aussies), and Lulu, Bing and I followed after hearing two awful songs from the supposed headline act. Even the band prior to Eskimo Joe was better than Stars of Track and Field, I'm sorry but they really sucked. To see the Eskimo Joe band members setting up and carrying their own amps etc. was sobering in outlining the divide between musicians 'making it' in Australia and the States. I wonder what they must think about it all.

I'm not a die-hard fan of Eskimo Joe but of their performances I've seen, this was easily the best. The intimacy of being about 5 metres away from the band with almost no-one surrounding me (i.e being able to really enjoy the music and not being distracted by mosh survival maneuvers), combined with the very professional and tight set of grooving tunes, plus the fact that Joel is very talented (I've seen him play guitar, bass, drums and keyboard) and cute, made tonight a good one. Good mojo was definitely flowing. 8 bucks well spent I'd say.

Update 25/10/07: What impressed me immensely, was that even though they were subjugated to support act in a not so glamorous venue, E. Joe were energized, looked to be having a blast and totally rocked in general. This write-up of the gig in the Boston Herald hits the nail on the head with "Exuding confidence and attitude, Eskimo Joe perhaps has a simple lesson to teach Stars of Track and Field: If you’re not having fun, neither is the audience.".