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ACL: Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts
In the midst of a sun-drenched first day at ACL, Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts brought a bit of urban grit and emotional dusk to the Dell Stage. It’s no surprise that this one-time protege of Peter Gabriel employed a full palette of sounds and shadings, from distorted guitars to falsetto vocals to syncopated percussion during the course of his dozen-song set.
Born in Akron, but now residing in Brooklyn, where his abstract art career absorbs whatever creative juices music does not claim, Arthur only began employing an onstage band in 2006, but he has adapted to the format handily. The Lonely Astronauts witched mood, tempo and tone from propulsive, brooding rock that echoed Lou Reed (at least to this listener) to the balladic simplicity of “September Baby” and melodic, loping “Too Much to Hide” to the vaguely martial air of “Mexican Army.”
Lyrically, Arthur specializes largely in tales of folks at the end of their respective ropes (although the tender “Precious One” and the KGSR staple “Honey and the Moon” are conspicuous exceptions). “In the mirror everything’s reversed,” he sang at the top of his set, “Every day you feel a little cursed.” No summertime pop sentiments, perhaps, but compelling, regardless.
Arthur and band (and the supple dexterity of guitarist Jen Turner deserves special mention here) ended their hour-long set with the jagged juxtapositions of “Star Song,” featuring Arthur on a fancy double-necked guitar. “I didn’t bring this thing all the way from Brooklyn not to play it,” he asserted. And play it he did…
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: ACL Festival
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By LARefugee
September 14, 2007 10:17 PM | Link to this
That fance double-necked “guitar” is actually an electric sitar.
By steve
September 17, 2007 1:53 PM | Link to this
His last name is misspelled. It’s Arthur, not “Arther”.