Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 00:26:02 -0700 From: redbear Subject: mark kozelek show in sf just got home from the mark kozelek solo show here in sf... as i would have predicted, it was fairly long and kind of messy...when i've seen him in the past, mark has always seemed really nervous and uncomfortable when he performs solo...particularly when he performs his own songs...his guitar playing tends to be restrained and tentative, and his vocals lose a lot of the subtle shadings you find on the albums. the same seemed to hold true tonight...and on top of that, he said that he had to rent the guitars he used this evening, because his regular guitars were apparently lost to the i.r.s. as part of some sort of tax problem...he seemed uncomfortable with the guitars he had on stage, re-tuned them often, and on a number of songs ignored them and sang a capella. at the end of the show, he ignored the mic and sound system and just played unamplified. throughout the evening he forgot words to songs, and needed prompting from the audience a couple times. between songs he often stood up on the stage staring at the guitars, trying to decide what to play next and which instrument to use. songs often ended abruptly (as has been his style when i've seen him in the past). in spite of all that, though, it was a fun show. mark can be quite funny, and his between-song banter was entertaining. the atmosphere when he performs solo is sort of like hanging out, listening to a friend play -- sometimes he'll start a song and then stop it or start over when it's not working. sometimes he'll play silly requests, or parts of old 70's classics ("dance with me", etc.). he played a bunch of songs from the rollercoaster album, and some new material from the forthcoming rhp album, due in january. here's as much of a set list as i can recall...it's late, i'm tired, and i'm sure i missed some stuff, including one song i recognize, but can't place (and it's driving me nuts!...one of the first lines was about a table, and there was stuff about water, and a line about "come on over to my side"...can anyone tell me what this song was?)...these are in order of album, not in the order he played them: 24 -- grace cathedral par -- mistress -- things mean a lot -- dragonflies -- strawberry hill -- uncle joe -- summer dress -- have you forgotten -- new song about his cat -- cruiser (new song about a woman in l.a.) -- a beautiful song about his ex-girlfriend's grandmother in alabama -- golden (a new song for john denver) -- whiskey in the jar -- keep on lovin' you (most of it, at least). if anyone else on the list was there and can tell me what i missed, i'd appreciate it. mark said he was playing "strawberry hill" for his friend hannah, and i wondered if he was referring to hannah marcus (http://www.bearcuffs.com/hannah/index.html), so i thought she might have been in the audience this evening. anyway, it was fun...but i've got to learn to stop inviting people to go to rhp/kozelek shows with me...