Joe Jackson…Calm, Cool, And Classic Joe

The Weesner Family Amphitheater filled quickly as fans waited for Joe Jackson to come on. Sold Out? You might say that. How about- even the standing room was sold out.

On this rare occasion, Joe Jackson actually had an opening act. Enter Faith Boblett and her Acoustic Guitar. This young lady held her own, playing original music with grace and charm. I’ve said it before and will say this many times over, if you want to know if a person can sing, go listen to them play an acoustic set, you can’t hide your voice there. Boblett has no reason to hide, she has an absolutely beautiful voice (which you can hear and see on my horribly recorded video of her song “Numbers” here).

Everyone’s heard ‘Dad Jokes,’ correct? Well, she might be starting the Mom Jokes, laying down a couple of “Puny” Zoo jokes. I’m pretty sure it was about 25{a43c2147d37bcf8b898f59ebaaf066dc60bd9fbfc7430ae40ed3f9adbaab469e} laughs (I was one of them) and 75{a43c2147d37bcf8b898f59ebaaf066dc60bd9fbfc7430ae40ed3f9adbaab469e} groans. Hey, at least I didn’t hear any boos.

A Huge roar came from the crowd as Joe Jackson (Solo) sat down and started playing “It’s Different For Girls”.  Another thunderous cheer came from the crowd as bassist Graham Maby entered the stage, starting the top 40 hit “Is She Really Going Out With Him” before the rest of the band joined for the third song, “Real Men.”

Jackson seems to have enjoyed the night, even making a smart quip that it’s not the strangest place he’s played. He also made fun of the zoo and the Minnesota Mascot, “The Mosquito”.

Joe snuck in a couple of his newer songs, asking the audience if it was okay. It was just a couple, true, but that’s not what the audience really wanted. Of course, they wanted to hear all the hits and popular songs. Joe obliged with that also, playing fan favorites “You Can’t Get What You Want (‘Til You Know What You Want)”, and “Sunday Papers” which he seemed to sing in a more angry tone than normal.

Of course, Joe played his two biggest hits, only stripped down. The song “Breaking Us In Two” featured Joe on the keys accompanied by bass and drums. The song “Steppin’ Out” was more intimate, as he slowed it way down.

Jackson is definitely his own person, with his music spanning of several genres. Still, it was the classics everyone came to see, including a solid cover of Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn” followed by the last song of the night, “A Slow Song,” which was used as the walk-off song. Each member left the stage solo style.