Jeff Daniels - Monmouth U. 11/11/06
Review by Lazlo
Photos by Naomi
When I first heard that actor Jeff Daniels had put out an album of singer/songwriter songs, I laughed, and figured it was a joke. Then I listened to "if William Shatner can, I can too", on his My Space page, and I realized not only was he aware of the joke most actors turned musicians are, but also that he was a witty songwriter, who can actually sing well, and play guitar. A few weeks later I got a copy of his album, "live & unplugged", which not only shattered the illusion about actors that try to moonlight as singers, but is among a handful of albums that are my favorite of the year.
So when I saw he was coming to play at Monmouth University on Nov. 11th, I knew I had to be there, even if it meant missing part of the Asbury Music Awards.
Jeff has never been a typical actor, switching between mainstream and indie films, between comedy and drama, he's an actor everyone recognizes, even if his name is not as well known as some in Hollywood. He's not a typical actor turned singer either, having been writing songs for the better part of his life, it was only a few years ago that he first stepped onto a stage to play them. The initial shows were benefits for the Purple Rose Theater, a professional theatre company, featuring Midwestern actors, directors, designers and playwrights, situated in the middle of America, producing plays about the middle of America, that Jeff opened in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan. These shows spawned the "live & unplugged" CD, which also benefits the theater, and even from his touring, all proceeds go to the theater. Hardly typical of the standard Hollywood ego.
When the show began, it was just him his guitar, a mic stand, a chair that he sat in, and a stool for his water and setlist. No crazy light show, no cheap Hollywood theatrics, this was just him and his stories and songs. And it was a wonderful joy to behold.
After opening with, "West Long Branch on a Saturday night", he went straight into the aforementioned, "if William Shatner can, I can too", playing it a little slower and more folksy, then the poppier version on the CD, giving it a different, but equally entertaining vibe. He's also written some new verses to the song making fun of actor/singers David Hasselhoff, Leonard Nemoy, and my favorite, Paris Hilton ("if I could suck like Paris Hilton...", a long pause, and then just went on to the next verse).
From the sound of the audience's laughter during "Shatner", it's safe to assume a lot of people came out for the show having never heard the album, for the "freak show" aspect, of an actor turned singer. I hope they were impressed as I was.
One of the things I noticed during Jeff's show, was how amazing his guitar playing was. He has a nice relaxed finger-pickin' style, that suits his music so well. Sometimes more folk sounding, other times more country, and even a little bit of the delta blues, on a song called, "forgive me Robert Johnson", which lovingly steals from every great classic delta blues song.
Jeff is also an expert story teller, explaining the impetus for some of his songs, such as the Robert Johnson song being written while he went down to the infamous crossroads where Robert Johnson allegedly made a deal with the devil to play the guitar like a master. Sadly, as Jeff said, the landmark crossroads, is now home to a Taco Bell.
Seamlessly segueing from funny songs, to touching more serious songs, is not an easy feat, but Jeff was able to do with amazing musical agility, sometimes even managing to do both in the same song. Probably the most touchingly serious moment of the show was when he sang, "middle of the night", a song he wrote for a friend of his that was getting divorced and had told him how much she missed her ex-husband lying beside her at night.
Other highlights of his set include, "Dirty Harry blues", where he did a pretty funny Clint Eastwood impression, "when you're fifty", a song he wrote after seeing Mary Hart wish him a happy 50th birthday on Entertainment Tonight (he noted that Mary Hart is 56 years old, so she'll always be older than him), and probably the funniest story/song I've ever heard, "recreational vehicle". Regular listener's to Lazlo's Den have likely heard me play this song on several occasions where he speaks of a family vacation gone awry, but hearing him do the song live, and adding different characterizations to the story then the album version had, made it one of the funniest moments of the night.
As much as a year ago I probably would have laughed at the thought of saying this, Jeff Daniels is a great singer/songwriter, should his acting career ever come to an end, he could definitely make a living doing this full time. So next time he comes to town, go! Trust me, the only laughter will be from how funny and entertaining he is, not at the "freak show" factor of an actor singing.
Review by Lazlo
Photos by Naomi
When I first heard that actor Jeff Daniels had put out an album of singer/songwriter songs, I laughed, and figured it was a joke. Then I listened to "if William Shatner can, I can too", on his My Space page, and I realized not only was he aware of the joke most actors turned musicians are, but also that he was a witty songwriter, who can actually sing well, and play guitar. A few weeks later I got a copy of his album, "live & unplugged", which not only shattered the illusion about actors that try to moonlight as singers, but is among a handful of albums that are my favorite of the year.
So when I saw he was coming to play at Monmouth University on Nov. 11th, I knew I had to be there, even if it meant missing part of the Asbury Music Awards.
Jeff has never been a typical actor, switching between mainstream and indie films, between comedy and drama, he's an actor everyone recognizes, even if his name is not as well known as some in Hollywood. He's not a typical actor turned singer either, having been writing songs for the better part of his life, it was only a few years ago that he first stepped onto a stage to play them. The initial shows were benefits for the Purple Rose Theater, a professional theatre company, featuring Midwestern actors, directors, designers and playwrights, situated in the middle of America, producing plays about the middle of America, that Jeff opened in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan. These shows spawned the "live & unplugged" CD, which also benefits the theater, and even from his touring, all proceeds go to the theater. Hardly typical of the standard Hollywood ego.
When the show began, it was just him his guitar, a mic stand, a chair that he sat in, and a stool for his water and setlist. No crazy light show, no cheap Hollywood theatrics, this was just him and his stories and songs. And it was a wonderful joy to behold.
After opening with, "West Long Branch on a Saturday night", he went straight into the aforementioned, "if William Shatner can, I can too", playing it a little slower and more folksy, then the poppier version on the CD, giving it a different, but equally entertaining vibe. He's also written some new verses to the song making fun of actor/singers David Hasselhoff, Leonard Nemoy, and my favorite, Paris Hilton ("if I could suck like Paris Hilton...", a long pause, and then just went on to the next verse).
From the sound of the audience's laughter during "Shatner", it's safe to assume a lot of people came out for the show having never heard the album, for the "freak show" aspect, of an actor turned singer. I hope they were impressed as I was.
One of the things I noticed during Jeff's show, was how amazing his guitar playing was. He has a nice relaxed finger-pickin' style, that suits his music so well. Sometimes more folk sounding, other times more country, and even a little bit of the delta blues, on a song called, "forgive me Robert Johnson", which lovingly steals from every great classic delta blues song.
Jeff is also an expert story teller, explaining the impetus for some of his songs, such as the Robert Johnson song being written while he went down to the infamous crossroads where Robert Johnson allegedly made a deal with the devil to play the guitar like a master. Sadly, as Jeff said, the landmark crossroads, is now home to a Taco Bell.
Seamlessly segueing from funny songs, to touching more serious songs, is not an easy feat, but Jeff was able to do with amazing musical agility, sometimes even managing to do both in the same song. Probably the most touchingly serious moment of the show was when he sang, "middle of the night", a song he wrote for a friend of his that was getting divorced and had told him how much she missed her ex-husband lying beside her at night.
Other highlights of his set include, "Dirty Harry blues", where he did a pretty funny Clint Eastwood impression, "when you're fifty", a song he wrote after seeing Mary Hart wish him a happy 50th birthday on Entertainment Tonight (he noted that Mary Hart is 56 years old, so she'll always be older than him), and probably the funniest story/song I've ever heard, "recreational vehicle". Regular listener's to Lazlo's Den have likely heard me play this song on several occasions where he speaks of a family vacation gone awry, but hearing him do the song live, and adding different characterizations to the story then the album version had, made it one of the funniest moments of the night.
As much as a year ago I probably would have laughed at the thought of saying this, Jeff Daniels is a great singer/songwriter, should his acting career ever come to an end, he could definitely make a living doing this full time. So next time he comes to town, go! Trust me, the only laughter will be from how funny and entertaining he is, not at the "freak show" factor of an actor singing.