By Michael F. Nameche
The Grifters/Jeff Buckley
Gabe's Oasis-Iowa City, IA
9 July, 1994
Stories abound about Jeff Buckley. Before his band took the stage, my ear had collected enough second hand information about the man that I felt weighted down. I quickly decided that such rumors belong somewhere other than a live review, but to his credit, I will say that Buckley is widely regarded as "a really nice guy." Having already established the fact that he can hold a crowd a crowd captivated on his own, (check out the 1993 EP, Live at Sin-é, for the indisputable proof), Buckley brought a top-notch band to back him up on this tour. They wisely chose "Mojo Pin" as the opener, and the crowd was in rapt attention from then on.
Visually, he was mesmerizing; every note he sang registered somewhere on his face with an emotive twitch or ripple. Toothpick legs held in a Joey Ramone stance, Jeff's stage presence burned with quiet intensity. Buckley's voice is truly incredible, an angelic coyote moan. His guitar playing is the perfect companion to that voice, often haunting and very impassioned.
Buckley belongs among an elite group of guitarists that draw from a wellspring of unexpected emotion, something that everyone can relate to, and on this night it was obvious that the impact of what he was offering to the audience was not lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment