Not A Rodeo Drive Type Of Guy

Last night at Avalon in Hollywood, Joe Jackson commented, "I like this part of Los Angeles because it's kind of seedy. I'm not really a Rodeo Drive type of guy." A man after my own heart! He put on a terrific show, opening with a couple of older songs he performed solo on the piano, then continuing with the bass player and drummer from his original band. The trio played some new songs, interspersed with classic hits.

Now, I've always assumed that Ben Folds, one of my very favorite musicians, must have been somewhat inspired by Joe Jackson, among other great piano-pop artists. I thought it was great fun to have Jackson perform on the William Shatner album, Has Been, that Folds produced. Even better were the two live shows at the El Rey in October 2004 with Folds, Shatner, and Jackson. Good, good times. (Oh, and Henry Rollins performed on one of the nights).

What I found interesting is that Joe Jackson is now touring with his piano, a bass, and drums. Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like the Ben Folds set up! E and I noted that on a couple of the newer songs, there were some "ba ba ba" backing vocals, which is also very Ben Folds. E turned to me and said "Okay, now who's inspiring who?"