Life after Falkner

My life is divided into two separate eras: life before Jellyfish and life after Jellyfish. Jellyfish is a band whose brief two-album career made waves in the music community of the early 90s. Quite apart from the grungy music of the time, Jellyfish's music was at once innovative, while paying unambiguous homage to classic groups like The Beatles, Queen, ELO, among others.

I'm not sure if this is a singular experience of mine, or if there are others like me, who find a great band which acts as a porthole to other great music. Jellyfish was my first great find; I felt like an archaeologist discovering an ancient burial ground of lost treasures. While only two albums deep, Jellyfish caused me to discover amazing artists such as Jason Falkner, Jon Brion, the Grays, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and a host of other spin-offs and pairings. The two most significant off-shoots of Jellyfish in my personal history have been Jon Brion, whose considerable talent has received love on this blog before, and Jason Falkner.

Due to the infrequent nature of his touring schedule, I have not been able to witness the spectacle of the latter's brilliance. Until this Thursday, that is. And now when I describe my life, I may just be able to divide it into two distinct categories (quite apart from the above categories): life before Falkner, and life after Falkner.

Perhaps the significance of the event is somewhat exaggerated here, but he puts on an amazing show, despite playing almost entirely from a new album which no one on this continent has been able to legally purchase (until the night of his concert during which, I was sad to find out, every single copy of his disc was sold out before I ambled over and tried to buy a copy).

Despite the fact that I wasn't familiar with most of Jason's song's that night, his performance was stellar. His voice is flawless. Indeed, he has no problems singing in low ranges all night, and then dramatically soaring over our heads in a vocal manoeuvre that takes his songs to new heights. He is such a master of his craft that even a steady, pounding, simple rock riff on an A chord can be transformed into a dynamic delight. As a musician, I can appreciate his tone, his playing and his craftsmanship. As a lover of music, I can appreciate how great his songs are; the elegant melodies bouncing off the walls.

The night also had some peripheral fun: Alanis Morissette was sitting beside me the whole night. She was obviously trying to keep a low profile (we were both seated in the back), but I could see her giant teeth peeking behind her chestnut hair, which she draped in front of her like a veil. Although I'm not a fan of Alanis's later material, she clearly has good taste herself, as she seemed to enjoy Jason's music (at least from what I could tell).

Jason played a riveting set, almost two hours of new music, energetic rock, and delectable jams. He is, and shall remain, among my favourite artists.

Before I go, I will point out that the opening band, Castledoor, was a rare surprise in an opening band. Despite what you may guess from their less-than-stellar name, this six-piece band, comprised of drums, bass, guitarist, singer, and two keyboardist/singer/abstract instrumentalists kept me constantly guessing, while imbuing their songs with hooky melodies and catchy beats. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time with this group, and I can say without hyperbole (which I am prone to do) that this was the best surprise of an opening band I've ever witnessed. That not be saying much, but it is meant to. Readers are encouraged to check them out here.