The venue started out in complete darkness. All the bros clinked their glasses together cheering for a good night and all the girlies squealed in anticipation. It was a packed House of Blues. Bodies were smothered toe to toe and the humidity was almost unbearable. But it was all going to be worth it once the curtains opened. This was a very different scene from the one I was painted by the Zeegig God who had been to a Pete Yorn show before. A fresh-faced musician donning an acoustic guitar peforming songs from his debut album in a mellow lounge setting. Many moons later, his fan base has multi-upled in size and in seconds I was going to realize that fact. Suddenly from behind the curtain Yorn’s voice begins singing a slow intro of “Last Summer” from his newest CD Back and Forth. The beat picked up and, in dramatic flare, the stage lights flew on, the curtains opened, and every single person lost their f’n mind! Pete Yorn was king of the world—at least in San Diego for that Thursday night.
Lucky for San Diegians this was the first show on Pete Yorn’s headlining tour. The energy was intense, especially when he started into his second song of the evening “Strange Condition.” If it weren’t for the decent audio personnel I may not have been able to hear him above the complete sing-a-long. But nothing got the crowd more into a frenzy until after his harmonica solo when he threw the harp into the wave of people.
Most of the songs played that night were from Back and Forth including “Shotgun,” “Country,” “Paradise Cove,” and the heavily promoted “Don’t Wanna Cry.” Already you could tell the maturity progression from his debut Music For the Morning After to the latest. Musically and lyrically Back and Forth seems much more methodical while as Morning After was so very youthful and romantic. Even Yorn had joked about not being back in San Diego since he was a young pup. But not that it mattered to Yorn’s fans. Every song played that night was a cause to scream and sing-a-long. Yorn also treated his House of Blues attendees with “Can’t Hear Anyone” which he admitted he had never played live before. And, of course, he did include his cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” that seems to be a mainstay within his live shows. Even the acoustic part of his set, which included the songs, “The Man,” “Just Another,” and “Crystal Village,” had women crying. Yeah, crying. But nothing got the people more worked up than playing songs from Morning After, “On Your Side,” “Murray” (my personal favorite), and the set closer “Life On a Chain.”
There was an encore, and like a pro rock ‘n roller, Yorn played “For Us,” “Lose You,” and “For Nancy” for all the ladies. I swear the girl right next me peed in her pants. If that doesn’t give you an indication of how the show was, than I don’t know what else to tell you.