Adem with Benji - Joe's Pub (New York) - Monday, August 28, 2006

by Rachel Pesin
4 September 2006

Joe’s Pub is one of my favorite venues in Manhattan. Its incredibly small size creates a very intimate setting, the sound is good, and there are three different levels, each with tables that offer great views of the tiny stage. The venue also has a pretty good menu, so you can have a tasty dinner while you enjoy the music. I rarely get the opportunity to go to Joe’s Pub so I was incredibly delighted to find out that ADEM (of FRIDGE) would be doing a special solo acoustic set there, especially because I first discovered Adem when I saw him at Joe’s Pub opening for SONS AND DAUGHTERS.

The audience at Joe’s Pub is more mature and respectful than the typical concert crowd. When Adem came out, everyone stopped talking; it was so quiet you could hear the proverbial pin drop. This group knew that an Adem gig is a quiet one and that if you speak too loudly you’ll most likely get shushed by someone in the audience—or by Adem himself. Unfortunately there was one drunken man who kept talking throughout the show, ruining the atmosphere for those within earshot, but even he couldn’t make this a bad night.

I was afraid that a solo Adem show might be boring because even with a complete back-up band, his music is still incredibly stripped-down folk. Also, his band play some of the kookiest instruments I’ve ever seen (most of which I can’t even tell you the names), and I knew we wouldn’t get to hear all of those wonderful sounds without the band. But when he came out with an acoustic guitar, a ukulele, and a harmonium, I knew it’d be a great show. The sincerity, longing, and aching in his music, lyrics, and voice was never more apparent. The way he sang and played made every note and every lyric seem incredibly poignant and important; the audience was hanging on his every word. Even his two cover songs were moving. First was a BJORK cover (sorry Bjork fans, but I don’t know which song it was!) and for the encore, “God Only Knows” by THE BEACH BOYS, which was slowed down and played on ukulele.

Opener BENJI (no last name given—maybe to go along with the one-name theme of the night?) was an enjoyable opener. He reminded me of RYAN ADAMS but was more country than Adams on his upbeat songs and more depressing and mellow on his slower ones. It was a great start to a great evening.

Filed under concerts folk