Justin Townes Earle has gone through some changes over the last couple of years, and when he played to a packed room at Stage 48 in NYC on September 9th, he didn’t seem totally in his element. He mentioned right off the bat that he was playing with a new band these days, and though it was one talented group of guys on that stage, it took a few songs for them to end up on the same page. Regardless, the audience was enchanted; even if he didn’t play every song they wanted to hear. Ignoring shout-out requests for “One More Night in Brooklyn”, Earle played his own chosen set, which turned out to be a mighty fine collection of tunes from across all his records. Most prominently, though, were songs from his new record Single Mothers, which had just dropped that day.
Critics have been noting that Single Mothers is a bluesier sound than what we’ve heard from Earle in the past, and he responded by telling us “there should be no distinction between the blues and country music.” And for Earle, there really isn’t. He blends the two seamlessly making you forget how different they often sound. His lanky frame dressed to the nines in a vintage looking suit, hat and glasses, Earle resembled more of a folk troubadour this night, particularly when he opened his set with two acoustic solo tunes, having the band join him after. “They Killed John Henry” and crowd favorite “Harlem River Blues” sounded fantastically spare without the support of the band, and the audience watched, captivated while also mouthing the words along silently so as not to interfere.
Once the band joined him, it took about three or four songs for the sound to improve, as his vocals were drowned out by the instrumentals. But when his mic was finally turned up, everything fell into place and his voice sounded just right. He belted out tunes like “Ain’t Glad I’m Leavin’”, “Worried Bout the Weather”, “Memphis in the Rain” and “My Baby Drives”, telling little stories before each of them. Earle made light of his “mommy and daddy issues” early on, singing the title track off his new record “Single Mothers”, and “Mama’s Eyes”—one he says always makes his own mother cry when she hears it.
Earle’s endearingly awkward communication with his audience included a lot of anecdotes about how much of an asshole he’s been to people in the past. He referred to these times in his life when singing songs like “Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This” and “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now”, as well as the rollicking “Time Shows Fools”, a song off Mothers about kicking ass.
Though he kept pointing out his lack of guitar playing skills, Earle is a gifted musician, and frankly, sounds best without a band. He appeared less distracted and more comfortable when it was just him and his guitar, and though the pedal steel was hypnotizing on “Today and a Lonely Night”, nothing beat the simplicity of Earle on his own. His vocal range also seems to reach new dimensions when he performs live, and the emotions behind the songs show through on his face.
Most poignantly, though, was “White Gardenias”, a song inspired by Billie Holiday, an artist to whom Earle says he relates because of her imperfect voice. Though vastly different vocalists, both find the beauty of their singing voices in the flaws, and capture audiences because of it. And despite his insecurities, Earle put on one hell of a show.
