Photo By John Carrico
Joe Jackson Band
Auditorium Shores, Saturday, March 15 The threat of rain didn't deter a festival throng from a right sit-in at Auditorium Shores on a SXSW Saturday evening. Holding down the middle of five slots on this free show was the original Joe Jackson Band, celebrating two and a half decades since their seminal run of
Look Sharp!,
I'm the Man, and
Beat Crazy and now touring behind
Volume 4 (Restless/Ryko). After those initial albums, Jackson went on to expand his compositional palette while band members Dave Houghton (drums), Graham Maby (bass), and Gary Sanford (guitar) worked on their own projects. After a proper British "Good evening," Jackson and company reinforced the nostalgia with
Look Sharp!'s straight-razor opener, "One More Time," which sounded as good as 1979 in spite of being hobbled by the muddy PA system. After a few solid cuts from
Volume 4, the crowd responded warmly to "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" by answering the song's call-and-response bridge. Slowing things down, the classically trained Jackson served up the new, introspective "Love at First Light," which nodded toward "Steppin' Out," from his NYC-inspired
Night and Day. Jackson, who plays keyboard, violin, percussion, and oboe, grabbed a melodica for the vibrant classic "Sunday Papers," followed by a stomping "Don't Wanna Be Like That" from
I'm the Man. Bookending the set, the quartet ended with "Got the Time,"
Look Sharp!'s closer. Throughout the 35-minute set, the band was fresh, albeit a bit distracted, perhaps due to the sound system, which no doubt suffered from too many acts doing too many short sets. Or maybe the band was saving itself for that night's big midnight slot at the Austin Music Hall. Either way, Jackson's crew proved that some things never go out of style.
