Pete Yorn tears the high note.Review by Tony Bonyata
With some of the best constructed songs that have come along in awhile, singer / songwriter Pete Yorn made a recent visit to The Rave in Milwaukee last night.
Photos by Phil Bonyata
While many of his compositions from his stunning debut album musicforthemorningafter are frail and reflective, a good majority of this New Jersey native's performance last night was beefed up by a band that added a bit more meat on the bones of these numbers.
Not that it was altogether necessary, though. While songs such as the introspective "Lose You," and "June" worked with a beautiful fragility on record, onstage they came off slightly more heavy handed with their rockier arrangements.
With dark shoulder-length locks and a hand-me-down sweater Yorn certainly looked the part of a young 1970s singer / songwriter. Running through a set which weighed heavy in material from his debut album, he opened with a blast of energy on the number "Black" and continued with the urgent alt-rock track "For Nancy ('Coz It Already Is)" and "Closet." While these edgier songs worked well on their own, some of the numbers performed would have seemed better suited for a simple, intimate show with just Yorn and his acoustic guitar.
Opening for Yorn were Britpop up-and-comers Elbow, who, with their atmospheric early Radiohead-lite numbers, never quite built up enough momentum to hold any real interest. The slackly-garbed Manchester quintet, led by vocalist Guy Garvey, performed proficiently enough, but, unlike Yorn, their songs - though steeped in emotion - just weren't that strong to begin with.
Pete Yorn reaches up.
Elbow feels the moment.
