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JOAN JETT gets fans rocking with high-powered show
from: recordnet.com
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White guitar wailing, JOAN JETT leaped onto the stage declaring, "I don't give a damn about my bad reputation/I've never been afraid of any deviation."
Her Thursday night performance at the San Joaquin Fair proved the passage of time hasn't adversely affected her hard-rocking image or personal convictions.
To the satisfaction of an estimated 2,500 in the mostly 30- to 40-something, denim and T-shirt audience in attendance, the 41-year-old Jett and her band, the BLACKHEARTS, turned in a passionate 80-minute show that included hits, cover tunes, new songs and an encore by popular demand.
The opener, "Bad Reputation," an anti-establishment song from Jett's self-titled 1981 debut album, had the crowd jumping up in response, cheering and pumping fists.
Heads bobbed along to the driving bass beat on "Cherry Bomb," dating back to her days as a punk pioneer in the teenage RUNAWAYS, and "Light of Day," the title song from Paul Schrader's 1987 film that featured Jett in a well-received acting role.
Clad in tight black leather pants and a belly-baring blue-and-black tank top -- with her trademark dark locks clipped short and bleached palest blond -- Jett was backed by DOUGIE NEEDLES on guitar, Sean Koos on bass, drummer THOMMY PRICE and KENNY LAGUNA on keyboards and percussion.
"We're here to have fun," Jett said. "Shake your butts. Open your mouths. Do some singing. Do some dancing."
The audience appeared happily prepared to follow Jett's advice.
Whipping the smallish, but very vocal, crowd into shape, she led a sing-along of the chorus to her scandalously sexy "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," one of three hits from her top-selling 1981 album, "I Love Rock 'N Roll." The anthemic title song, performed near the end of the set, prompted yells and whistles.
Themes of love, heartbreak and sex were explored in "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and the down 'n' dirty "I Wanna Be Your Dog," from 1988's "Up Your Alley"; "Love Is Pain" and "The French Song" (with a chorus that translated as, "I love to make love to you"); and "Fetish," a song about intense sexual obsession from Jett's 1999 album of the same name.
Jett and the BLACKHEARTS put a new spin on their 1981 hit, a version of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," alternating from a slower, more dreamy verse to a speed-metal, punk-flavored chorus and bridge.
Jett addressed ideas of tolerance and acceptance in "Androgynous," a love song about an unconventional couple that was well-received by an audience clearly listening attentively.
"Here comes Dick/He's sporting a skirt," the song began, with Needles sporting a tomato-red leather miniskirt over a pair of black leather pants and black tank top.
Similarly, when the lyrics encouraged a father to accept his nonconformist daughter -- "She's happy with how she looks/She's happy with her gender" -- it was clear the song reflected Jett's own experiences.
Jett and the BLACKHEARTS had some surprises up their sleeves.
An unexpected cover of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" theme song reaffirmed her status as a modern role model for girls in general and female musicians in particular -- a new anthem for Jett's "riot grrl" fans.
In a three-song encore, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" theme was a nod to the versatile Jett's on-Broadway role as Columbia; "Wild Child" joyfully celebrated her no-holds-barred attitude toward life; and a version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" left people reflecting on Jett's messages of self-acceptance and diversity.
Clearly gratified by the crowd's response, Jett waved and blew kisses -- belying her tough-as-nails public image.
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