On Wednesday night I went to the Glee club in Nottingham to see singer-song writer Justin Earle so of the famous Steve Earle.
Great night, some great songs played and I’ll definitely be buying at least a couple of albums!
Heres the song he did as an encore.
And here a a review from the Nottingham Eving Post.
Carrying a famous family name doesn’t always guarantee you the success of the predecessor who gave the name its notoriety. It could be more of a hindrance, with constant and unwarranted comparisons being made, especially if you’re in the same business.
But Justin Townes Earle, son of singer-songwriter Steve, is not a wannabe hanging on the coat-tails of his father. He’s his own man, with inherited talents that make his work his own.
Visually, he’s tall and wiry, with prescription glasses tied firmly in place, giving him the look of an American high school nerd. But he’s not the kind of man you can imagine being pushed around or bullied. He comes across as forthright, opinionated and very much someone who has chosen his own path.
These themes come through in his songs. Some are autobiographical, hinting at the strained relationship with his father; while he freely admits that a childhood fear of thunderstorms has led to a lot of his work mentioning the weather in some way.
There’s definitely some sense of catharsis in his delivery, as if performing these songs, some of which are heavily based on his adolescent musical influences, are a way of continually exorcising some personal demons.
I accept I may be looking too deeply into his psyche, but having seen his assured brilliance at a previous visit to the Rescue Rooms, I felt that this time around he seemed a little more on edge. Between songs, many of which featured Paul Niehaus on accompanying guitar, JTE’s banter seemed a little rambling and distracted.
Supported by the soulful and melancholic fellow son of Nashville Andrew Combs, this was a good and well appreciated show from Earle that, being hyper-critical, lacked the vibe and impetus of his previous outing.