Live Review: Jeremy Messersmith @ Joe's Pub 5-28-10

Words & Photo by M.Morales

Jeremy Messersmith's songs unplugged were gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking. You can hear his voice so clearly through the speakers at Joe's Pub. Crisp. Honest. Pessimistic. The guy's talking about death. Not a very light subject. You almost have to hold back from wanting to cry. The acoustic radiating almost perfectly. Messersmith's light, sweet vocals contrasting with the almost bitter, dark lyrics. Very little instrumentation getting in the way of his soothing voice. The audience was quiet, only  being present to cheer after each song. Who would want to talk during an acoustic performance anyway?

While, he played from all three of his themed trilogy releases, his core set consisted of "Violet," "Dillinger Eyes," "A Girl, A Boy, and Graveyard," and others from his latest release, The Reluctant Graveyard, an album he said was inspired by the fact that his house in Minneapolis is close to a graveyard.Then his Beatles cover of "Norwegian Wood" came on. He joked that he turned the two minute long song  into an 8-minute one. The Beatles influence is in his music is obvious, not only by the cover, but the simple, melodic, repetitious parts he has in his music like the band. "I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me," sang Messersmith somewhat reluctant, yet honest, like it was his own words.

He added some percussion parts using a loop pedal to create an initial beat with his hand in order to add some texture to his sound. It was rather cool. This singer-songwriter knows how to string together songs to create interesting stories based on his experiences. Live Messersmith may not be the most lively, but when you hear his music you realize he doesn't have to be.

Jeremy Messesmith next area show is at Brooklyn's Littlefield with The Morgues and No Hay Bands on June 9th. Doors at 8pm. $8.  More info here.