MUSIC REVIEW: PETE YORN AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES

Singer-Songwriter Emphatically Mixes Up The Best of His Old Songs With The New

By: Casey Thompson

July 15, 2009

(07/10/09 in Anaheim, CA) Pete Yorn stood before a cheering crowd Friday night as he made his first pass through the Southland on his current tour. The opening number was familiar -- one of the first songs fans heard at the start of this decade, and his career. With his guitar conspicuously absent, the 34-year-old looked more like the frontman for a rock band and less like the image of a lone singer/songwriter he evokes. There is a certain covetous aspect to playing acoustic and singing your song, but not for this one; “Strange Condition” belonged to everyone in attendance that night.

Yorn is currently touring in support of his latest release, Back & Fourth, but this show at the House of Blues, Anaheim, was peppered with songs old and new. After wowing the crowd with the classic single, Yorn strapped on his acoustic guitar and launched into two tracks from his newest album, “Last Summer” and “Shotgun.” The catchy new songs played well, but nothing could compare to the furor created every time he delved into something from musicforthemorningafter. It’s Yorn’s first album and, judging by crowd reaction, is still the favorite among his fans. The crowd went into full sing-along mode for the early anthem about the Beach Boys’ father, “Murray.” An acoustic version of “Closet,” followed by cryptic love song “Black,” had the crowd screaming for more.

But the night was hardly restricted to those two albums, as Yorn made his way through his entire catalog, a couple of covers, and an unreleased track. “The Man”'s country vibe was accented when the band played it acoustic; “Crystal Village” was as bright and crystalline as ever with an extensively vamped intro; and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” takes on entirely new dimensions behind Yorn’s warble and stripped-down instrumentation. It’s fun to hear these new wave classics reworked by more organic contemporary artists, like Cary Brothers’ cover of The Thompson Twins’ “If You Were Here.”

After briefly reviving the ‘80s, Yorn went back to the beginning with the perennially popular “Life on a Chain,” his first ever single and the first track on his first album. Jangly folk rhythms engulfed the elated, culminating with Yorn tossing his harmonica into the crowd after a brief but inspired solo.

Following a finale like that would be no easy task but, luckily for fans, he had saved the best for last. Having swapped his acoustic out for a Mustang during the encore break, Yorn returned to the stage to rock the delirious/demure Nightcrawler single, “For Us.” But what really got the crowd excited was the instantly recognizable piano intro to “Lose You,” Yorn’s ultimate ballad and a favorite of television and movie producers. “This song saved my life,” he admitted before launching full-bore into “For Nancy,” essentially completing what he started at the beginning of the night with “Strange Condition.”

Yorn knows what his fans want and is quick to deliver. With seven tracks on the set list, musicforthemorningafter was the undisputed winner among Yorn’s catalogue, but this wasn’t a rehashing of the past. Rather, he continues to try new things and grow as an artist; he even closed the show with “Rock Crowd,” which has yet to even be released. But he never forgets why he’s up there on stage and why the fans took such a shine to him in the first place.