The Living Room, New York, NY
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Joe Purdy is working on carving himself out a niche in the young
singer/songwriter scene. To add to his growing popularity, Purdy
recently made an appearance playing with Who guitarist Pete Townshend
in Chicago and is set to begin a European tour. With eight albums under
his belt, Purdy is currently touring in support of his latest release,
Canyon Joe. The intimate setting at the Living Room was packed to
capacity, and a few fans left at the end of the line even had to talk
the door man into letting them in for the performance.
Purdy opened the set with a few songs from his latest release, including the title track. His whispered, folk delivery sounded like a cross between Iron and Wine vocals and Nebraska-era Springsteen style harmonica. The somber tone of his music had the audience captivated, but Purdy made sure not to come across as depressing, jokingly commenting that it was turning out to be a night of “sad bastard music.” He switched over to the piano for “Outlaws” then returned to his acoustic guitar for a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel,” during which he forgot the lyrics but got some help from the crowd.
Throughout the set, Purdy took requests from the audience. At one point he asked for a candle from the audience, lit it and left it on a chair, never explaining why, beyond some sort of unexplained hipster symbolism. Sharing much of the same vein with artists like Ryan Adams, Purdy’s performance brought a mix of folk and alternative country to the city, and made it cool enough for the kids to like again, even if a chaser of irony was required.
