jimmy vanderslice

turning a corner on my way back from the bathroom at chronic town hookah lounge in state college, pa, i overheard a trio of young females discussing the evening's entertainment. "so i think the main guy is on next. his name is james vanderslice - he's pretty famous." oh my. i had to laugh to myself at the way she not only incorrectly referred to the "famous" john vanderslice as james, but that she also went out of her way to emphasize the james. brilliant! a dawson's creek fan, perhaps?

having missed jv's lancaster show last night, i decided to make the two hour drive northwest to state college and catch him up there with my brother. simply put, that turned out to be a very wise and fortunate move. had i attended the lancaster show, i can guarantee i would not have been able to see such a high caliber performance in such an intimate setting, while leaning on a pillow on the floor right in front of the stage. it was seriously as if john vanderslice were playing in my living room.

the live manifestation of his songs was fascinating. stripped down and re-arranged to suit the palette of sounds available on stage, each one took on a whole new color and feel - much more so than most bands i've seen perform. nearing the end of an extremely tight and energetic set, vanderslice shared his thoughts about the pretension of encores. so, instead of pretending to say goodnight, he and his band grabbed one acoustic instrument apiece and moved to the floor, where they continued their set with four completely unplugged songs as we all circled around.

i've witnessed countless performances in my life, but i would have to say this, my first john vanderslice show, was one of the coolest. and while i was watching him play and sing, i felt a stab of recognition threatening the tip of my brain. about halfway through the show, i was able to squeeze it out. i might be crazy, but john vanderslice reminds me of jim adkins from jimmy eat world! not at all in the music he writes or the way he looks, but in the way he carries himself on stage. the two have very similar mannerisms, hair-management maneuvers, head-tilts, and guitar stances. i'm not sure what this means, exactly, but i now feel compelled to be a tad more forgiving of any james slip-ups.

It's Jimmy (L) Vanderslice (R)!