Last night I attended the Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic concert in Thousand Oaks, CA. The show was held in a small theater with amazing sound. I was really bummed that I had missed the first rounds of Jackson's solo acoustic tour a few years back. When i saw that he was heading out again, I bought tickets immediately. As my friends here at TG know, Jackson Browne is one of my absolute favorite artists. I have taken the time to learn several of his songs. Some I can do nicely, some I struggle with mightily....
Anyhow...... I am sure some of you have seen photos or even YT videos of some of these performances, but to actually sit there and watch this show was truly a treat for me as a fan. First thing I have to say is that I really, really, really would like to have 18 guitars and a piano of my own to be able to play with.... It is funny to see all of those beautiful instruments up on the stage and very funny to watch him walk around picking out the proper guitar to play for the next song. He has no set list when he performs these shows, but rather plays what strikes him and often what people yell out. He is very comical at times as well. I must say that I hope I hold up half that well when i am 63! I can venture a serious guess that I won't... B) Although he played MANY great songs last night, I was a bit bummed that "Something Fine" did not make it into the show. Oh well. He did manage to get "Rosie" in there which was hilarious. If you are not familiar with the song, you should listen to it and get the chuckle for yourself.
At one point someone yelled out for him to play an old song called "Shakeytown". He started to play it, but forgot part of it (he did not write this particular song). So one of his buddies brought out the sheet music to a roar of laughter from the crowd. Then when the music was in front of him, he had to admit, to his embarrassment, that he needed his glasses to read it.....another roar from the crowd. With everything in place he proceeded to belt out the great old song and crowd went wild again.
He also pulled out "Take It Easy" last night. This song was made famous by The Eagles, but was mostly written by Jackson with some input by Glenn Frey. The story goes: Jackson Browne wrote this for his first album, but he didn't know how to finish the song. He gave it to his friend Glenn Frey, who needed songs for his new band - the Eagles. Frey finished the song and the Eagles used it as the first song on their first album. So what was almost a Jackson Browne song became the first single from the new group the Eagles. Silly song fact...
Jackson played for 3hrs. It seemed like much less, as I was thoroughly enjoying myself. If any of you are fans of Jackson, and have not had the chance to see one of these shows, I would highly recommend it. Great setting to see an artist with a very impressive body of work. When I look back on his work, it is amazing how many songs he has done or been a part of.
Oh, and by the way, he is a pretty good guitar player. By his own admission, he is not a "Guitarist" and lacks in a lot of abilities, but I would surely settle for being as "bad" as he is...... B)
Sincerely (and still smiling broadly),
MJ
