J.J. Cale @ Lee's Palace 06/27/04

[TimmyB]

JEFF COHEN/LEE'S/HOB PRESENT

JJ CALE

10:00PM HEADLINE SET

LEE'S PALACE -529 BLOOR W

LEGAL AGE 19/NO SMOKING

SUN JUN 27 2004 DRS 8:30PM

Who's coming out to see this amazing songwriter/guitarist with me tonight?

This is the guy that wrote the Eric Clapton hits "After Midnight" and "Cocaine". Clapton has also covered Cale tunes "I'll Make Love To You Anytime" and "Travelin' Light". If you're going to the Clapton show at the Air Canada Centre, or anywhere else for that matter you will really want to go to this show.

Phish covered "After Midnight" at Big Cypress and Widespread Panic are also known to often cover "Travelin' Light". Also Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tom Petty have covered Cale's "Call Me The Breeze".

This past Friday I saw Poco cover two Cale tunes at the Tralf. They were "Cajun Moon and "Magnolia".

Cale has just recently released an album on Sanctuary Records titled "To Tulsa And Back". There was a Cale track from that record on the bonnaroo Music Festival 2004 CD "Sweet Sounds vol. 6" titled "The Problem." It's an anti-Bush song, who is the problem.

[elemeno]

i would love to be at this show. gotta save the funds for CTMF. i only listened to JJ cale for the first time last year. i cant believe what i've been missing.

[meggo]

ditto gator. i have one disc that i love, just kinda down-home groovy stuff, makes me feel better. but i gotta save funds too for next weekend. yay ctmf!

[Drawbar]

That was an awesome show. Really quiet though. He has the ability to do that. His solos blew me away. Clapton has nothin' on JJ. I hope he comes back again next year and sticks to the smaller venues. Truly a night to remember.

[Jay Funk Dawg]

I wished I could have made it.. it was too busy a week for me... of all shows that night, that was the one I wanted to see most..

here's the run I just finished...you can see why I'm beat.

Friday, Steve Kimock/Burt Neilson Opera House, TO

Saturday, Tala, New Shady Groove Show El Mocambo, TO

Sunday, PHISH's Sunday Concert Saratoga Springs, USA

Tuesday, Coca Conference Fredericton, NB

Wednesday, High Plains Drifter Concert Antigonish, NS

Friday, The Green Party Party Om Festival crew/Wassabi Collective, TO

[TimmyB]

It took me so long to write a review on my first J.J. Cale concert due to the election last night (By the way I'm proud of Canada for not punishing the Liberals by rewarding the Conservatives. I just wish the NDP or Liberals got one more seat!)

As I walked up to Lee's Palace I found the line to get in around the building down the whole block. I have been to Lee's many times and some of the gigs were sellouts, though this was the longest line I have ever seen there. I guess the older Cale crowd didn't want to show up late? Even being so far back in line as I entered the venue I was still able to walk right up to the front of the stage, as most people went straight to the bar and chairs around the sides of the venue.

J.J. Cale rolled out two minues before showtime, which was ten. He is a small man, with a dark tan, wearing Tuscon, Arizona t-shirt, with bootcut jeans and surprise, surpise boots.

Cale entered the stage alone and tuned up for a bit before he started performing. The next song was "Mama Don't" where each band member came out with each subsequent verse in the song that spoke of the instrument they were playing.

Unfortunately the sound was terrible during the gig. At least up front where the mix of vocals in the moniters could barely be heard over the amps on stage. Many fans were complaining about the sound all night to no avail.

The bad mix was only amplified with the fact that J.J.'s vocal style is subdued at best. It often took me a minute or two to realize what song was being performed, if I even found out at all.

Even though Cale had just recently released his best received album in years on the Sanctuary recording label titled "From Tulsa And Back" he only performed, I believe, one song off the album, the opening track "My Gal."

The majority of the night was devoted to the songs that evey knew quite well, either by Cale or the artists that have covered him over the years. Cale performed all four songs that Eric Clapton has covered out of Cale's back catologue, "After Midnight," "Coccain," "I'll Make Love To You Anytime" and "Travelin' Light." Cale also performed the song that Lynyrd Skynyrd made famous "Call Me The Breeze". During the encore J.J. played "Magnolia" which I saw performed only two days before by Poco at the Tralf.

When it came to the performance of the artists on stage, specifically J.J. all I can say is, wow! What a guitarist. His playing style absolutely blew my mind. He performed then entire night on a Danelectro hollow bodied guitar through a small Fender and MesaBoogie amps. He sat almost the entire show sitting down on a nice brass stool.

It was a laid back night that had my head moving the entire time. I hope the next time I see Cale perform, if there is a next time that the sound was better. But he is so good I would see him play in the worst sounding venue on the planet.

Incomplete setlist at the show. If anyone knows the name of some of these songs with (lyrics)? Let me know.

Start time 9:58pm

1. "Where The Sun Never Shines" (lyric) (solo)

2. Mama Don't

3. "Low down dirty shame" (lyric)

4. Money Talks

5. "Sittin' on the train...ridin' home" (lyric)

6. Call The Doctor

7. "Guitar man" (lyric)

8. Travelin' Light

9. My Gal

10. "Taking life and liberty" (lyric) (keyboardist lead vocal)

11. "I feel the blues" (lyric) (rhythm guitarist lead vocalist)

12. "Easy come, easy go" (lyric)

13. Lies

14. Call Me The Breeze

15. Cocaine

16. Crazy Mama

17. After Midnight

Encore: 18. Magnolia

19. I'll Make Love To You Anytime

(total length 1 hour and 52 minutes)

[shitidiot]

Yes one of the best show's ever. Befor the show we went out back to burn one down. i noticed that the band room door was open and JJ was there smoking a butt. a friend walked up and told him how much we loved his music. then we all intorduced are selves. he was very nice. asked him if he would like to smoke a joint with us. His answer was "no thanks, if i get high now i'll just get up on stage an laugh at every one" then he walk away. the keyboard player stayed and smoked with us. very nice man.