Pete Yorn live

Pete Yorn
Riveria, Chicago
Saturday, March 3, 2007

Saturday’s Pete Yorn show at the Riveria was accomplished in a number of ways. The show was sold out, with the collar-popped faithful eating up every overly-modest lick. Yorn’s support band brought a surprising life to even his most midtempo numbers. And Yorn himself not only made the juxtaposition between acoustic balladeer and theater rock superstar make sense, but look easy.

Since his emergence on the scene a few years ago, Yorn has had plenty going for him. He wisely has avoided becoming sorority-exclusive talent, unlike adult-alternative peer John Mayer. Likewise, the pop sensibilities Yorn brings to his alt-folk are both consistent and distinct, and are at their best when it’s at at the same time.

(For more photos from Saturday’s show, visit our Flickr site.)

So with all that behind it, Saturday’s show was all the more disappointing that what worked wasn’t enough to raise it to something better than often coming as just good enough.

The Riviera show was fairly consistent throughout — lush, poppy folk-rock numbers designed for a theater setting, with a healthy dose of modesty interspliced throughout. Most songs were prefaced with Yorn sharing a story about their conception, whether or not they were true was beside the point. If nothing else, it helped further solidify Yorn’s standing as a born “Storytellers” artist. All that was missing was a VH1 soundstage.

That’s not to say the night was not without highlights. “Crystal Village,” replete with a dream-pop intro, was a memorable, if not unexpected, highlight. And “Maybe I’m Right,” off Yorn’s latest effort, Nightcrawler, served as one of the best, and also up-tempo, performances of the set.

It wasn’t until the second song of the night’s encore, however, that Yorn achieved a truly transcendent moment, on the sparse and moving “Ice Age.” Aside from commanding attention as the evening’s greatest highlight, it also served as the realization of one of Yorn’s overall goals, both on record and on stage. That is, crafting music that’s both intimate and universal.

Which was just about as good as the night got. Throughout it all, Yorn was never not pleasant, but only occasionally dynamic. On the other hand, even at just good enough, Yorn is still capable of accomplishing more than others can hope for on their best night.

— Jaime de’Medici

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly