Gig review: Damien Jurado, Arches, Glasgow

By RYAN DREVER
Published on 18/08/2012 04:21

WITH part of the performance space blocked off, and with low-key seating positioned at the front of the stage, this simple solo set from Seattle singer songwriter Damien Jurado felt like an intimate affair.

Star rating: * * * *

His obvious discomfort at speaking to a crowd morphed into a wonderfully humorous deadpan stream-of-consciousness that showed a different side to the mature and sensitive storyteller that appears in his music.

Musically, he traversed lost love and its potential to be a positive force, while mining darker and more violent material, and even gave a rare insight into the history and motivation behind his work, revealing that the song Rachel and Cali was borne of a personal experience he had at age 15 when harbouring a teenage runaway in his closet.

This stripped-down display showed off his tender but at times booming voice to good advantage, set off perfectly with sublime finger picking. A joyful experience, even when the darkness set in.