Jesse Malin pulled into his local surroundings on Saturday Night March 25th to play Webster Hall celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut solo album, The Fine Art of Self Destruction. The sold-out crowd was full of old friends and family as the East Village mainstay was warmly welcomed home.
Before Malin and company took the stage, another NYC-based act opened the evening with rousing success. The newly formed Fantastic Cat delivered their winning mix of singer-songwriter-based rock and roll as all four of the members of the group effortlessly switched instruments and lead vocals. Comprised of Don DiLego, Anthony D’Amato, Brian Dunne, and Mike Montali the group opened the night with their folk rocking “C’mon Armageddon”, kicking up the energy, which remained high throughout the show.
The group seamlessly flowed throughout their opening set as their harmonies rang out beautifully on “Nobody’s Coming To Get You”, while the pulsing “Wild & Free” was emotional, and “Fiona” was a standout tune. The group also dove into a country-gospel vibe with “Goodnight My Darling” producing a huge ending. The brief set wrapped up with the group’s touching, mandolin-accented, cover of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart For A While” as Fantastic Cat clearly made new fans with a dynamite outing.
A quick turnaround found Malin’s band backing a few friends who covered Jesse’s songs for a tribute mini set. First up, was Cait O’Riordan singing “Shane” a heartfelt song Malin wrote for Shane MacGowan. Next was Catherine Popper who sang “Swinging Man” before Aaron Lee Tasjan delivered a stirring “Shining Down”, these quick songs added a large event feeling to this night.
Malin took the stage shortly after, pumping up the crowd with “The Way We Used To Roll” as many of the older, gray-haired fans in the house nodded and sang along. The Pogues got another tribute as Malin sang “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” but did so in too pristine of a manner. After “Death Star” Malin took some time to discuss his love of this club, which he has been visiting since it was The Ritz, and stories about recording the album a few blocks away on Clinton Street, two themes he would return to throughout the set.
The opening track on The Fine Art of Self Destruction was one of the best as “Queen of the Underworld” deployed the cascading piano and energetic vocals from Malin. The feeling continued during “TKO” as he demanded that you get up and buy him a drink while “Downliner” eased it back with acoustic strums.
Malin then went into storytelling mode relaying how he got funding for the album by getting bought out of his East 3rd street apartment for $29,000. He also mentioned multiple times on the night how indebted he was to Ryan Adams for playing, producing, and recording the album, but Adams was not in attendance.
The album flowed out, around a mid-album break which saw Malin enter the crowd for a cover of The Replacements’ “Bastards of Young” before returning to the stage for a sax augmented “Turn Up The Mains”. The Fine Art of Self-Destruction portion of the show wrapped up with “Xmas” a jangling George Harrison-influenced Christmas song, then the festivities really began as guests once again joined the core band. Tommy Stinson (dressed up like a melting bad guy from Indiana Jones) who helped on “State of the Art” and “Meet Me at the End of the World Again” while Butch Walker delivered the most rousing tune on the evening, the blistering “Modern World”.
Lucinda Williams then came out to sing two songs to rapt applause as “Room 13” and the particularly affecting “Jukebox” were excellent. The celebratory night closed with two songs where all the guests came back out to sing and play like an East Village Last Waltz. “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” from Johnny Thunders, was apt for the night and location of the show, while The Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail” ended this evening of remembrance on an upbeat, rocksteady vibe from Jesse Malin and friends.
One Response
Should have noted that Adam Wiener of Low Cut Connie guested on Turn Up the Mains.