| Ron Sexsmith is Canadian, and therefore a nice guy. His performance at Club Quattro Osaka on September 29 was tuneful, earnest and, well...nice. His songs are so effortlessly melodious and catchy that one could be forgiven for mistaking his name for "Ron Songcraft." Pudgy, soft-spoken and sweet-voiced, it's easy to imagine him as the boy in the neighborhood who sings sad songs at the window of a girl who won't have him. His sound is high-pitched, deeply felt, plaintive. In fact, his songs sound mournful even when they're hopeful and warm, but mournful in the best way: bittersweet, like life. |
 |
Wearing black jeans, a black and red print smoking jacket and a mismatching print collared shirt, Sexsmith moved through a fixed set of 19 songs and then four encore numbers. His band (a second guitar + bass + drums) was mild-mannered but professional, playing tastefully and contributing subtle background vocals while keeping the focus on the main man throughout. Sexsmith, self-deprecating and disarming, joked about the incoming typhoon threat - he worried it might muss his formidable mop of hair - and made fun of his own piano playing. At one point, he challenged audience members to identify several different Elton John songs by the first piano chord only, a task with which they complied happily. |
|
 |
| Song highlights included Gold in Them Hills, Whatever It Takes (the band's first-ever Top Ten hit in Canada), Words We Never Use, and These Days. On the latter, Sexsmith conveyed a favorite theme, fouled romance, in a favorite tone, knowing pathos: "Promises are made to be broken, haven't you heard? / You said he'd never break your heart, now haven't you learned? / You believed in the words and all that they meant / But love is not some popular song filled with empty sentiment / That's what passes for love these days." Sexsmith also ventured into political territory with the welcome George W. Bush protest From Now On, demanding that "from now on" the world's leaders seek peace and justice. He also acknowledged the passing in 2004 of several heroes of popular music, including Warren Zevon and Joe Strummer, and honored Ray Charles in particular by covering one of the soul giant's numbers. |
 |
Many tunes dealt with the ironic combination of hope and sadness inherent in the hard fact of impermanence. On Former Glory, Sexsmith invoked personal transformation optimistically through days and seasons: "The day is coming soon / You don't have to worry / Your light will return / In its former glory / The summer will return / Your heart will rise again / In its former glory." The most poignant transformational song of the evening, surely, was In a Flash, in which the singer-songwriter posed a painful question despite its unknowable answer: "The end must come for some good reason, I've heard it said before / To everything a time and season, what was this season for?" |
|
report by jab and photo by yegg |
 mag files : Ron Sexsmith is Canadian : (04/09/29 @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro) : review by jab, photo by yeggphoto report : (04/09/29 @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro) : photo by yeggCDでは見えなかった、本当の彼の姿 : (03/06/19 @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro) : review by Shoko Kudo, photo by ikesanphoto report : (03/06/19 @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro) : photo by ikesan呼応しあう優しさ : (03/06/17 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by iuk, photo by kecophoto report : (03/06/17 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : photo by keco京都の寒空に響き渡る優しく美しいメロディー : (02/01/18 @ 京都磔磔) : review by Shoko Kudo, photo by hanasan捨てた後に残ったものの美 : (02/01/13 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by nob, photo by hanasanreview(untitled) : (99/09/12 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by RUSTYreview(untitled) : (99/09/12 @ Shibuya Club Quattro) : review by smile |
|
The official site of RON SEXSMITH is; http://www.ronsexsmithonline.com/ The latest album  "Retriever" ( 国内盤 / US import / UK import ) |
previous works ;
"Cobblestone Runway" ( 国内盤 / US import) "Blue Boy" ( 国内盤 / UK import ) "Whereabouts" ( 国内盤 / US import ) "Other Songs" ( 国内盤 / US import ) "Ron Sexsmith" ( 国内盤 / US import ) check the albums? |
|
previous works by jab  2004Soul Flower Power Soul Flower Union : (12th June @ Shinsaibashi Club Quattro)
|