Jake Clemons @ the Old Museum, Brisbane, Aug 16 2014

Jake & Jamie after Thursday night's show at the Substation.

[The following is a special report from guest contributor Jamie McLellan regarding a trip he took to see Jake Clemons in Brisbane this past Saturday night.]

After Wednesday night's opening show of Jake Clemons’s ‘Embracing Light’ acoustic tour of Australia at the Toff in Town in Melbourne's CBD, I quickly decided to ‘Embrace Life’ by booking a flight and accommodation in Brisbane for Saturday night's show at the Old Museum. This decision was subsequently confirmed after attending stellar shows at the Substation in Newport Thursday night and the following night's sold-out show at the Flying Saucer Club in Elsternwick.

On Saturday morning, with ‘A Day in the Life’ by the Beatles playing in my head, I woke up, fell out of bed and dragged a comb across my head. Looking up, I noticed I was late ...

Expecting a lift to Tullamarine Airport at any minute I found my coat and grabbed my hat and made it outside in seconds flat. Having been with me the previous night at the Flying Saucer Club my ride rocked up with a standard ‘feeling scummed tonic’ of a steaming, strong, skinny latte and we were off. Disembarking at the airport, however, I quickly realised that this Day Tripper was going to encounter a few difficulties.

Your reporter at Gold Coast Airport.

"He was a day tripper, one-way ticket yeah ..."

Though my flight was scheduled to depart at 10:00am I was advised by airline staff I could not obtain a direct flight from Melbourne to Brisbane until 7:00pm. Without much choice I switched to a 1:00pm flight to the Gold Coast followed by a train ride to Brisbane. A blessed cocktail of Gatorade and caffeine percolated through my veins as we arrived in Gold Coast, where a bus ride to Varsity Lakes Train Station was followed by a carefree, hour-long train ride into Brisbane.

I checked into my accommodation in the very nice Meriton Apartments and went to meet a friend who'd driven down from Noosa to attend the show. After a few beers we enjoyed the evening's pleasant, mild and rainy weather while making our way to the Old Museum in Brisbane's CBD. Friday night's lively crowd at the Flying Saucer Club in Melbourne made me hopeful for a similarly boisterous crowd at the Old Museum on a Saturday.

Asa Broomhall

Opening for Jake was local singer-songwriter Asa Broomhall. He came on at 8:35 and played a 35-minute set that included a superb cover of Springsteen's ‘One Step Up’ from 1987's ‘Tunnel of Love’ album. Asa said, "It’s the right time to play with Jake here" and I could not have agreed more.

Jake, drummer Matt Musty and keyboardist Brett Mayer took the stage at 9:40. Jake introduced himself by saying "Good evening, Brisbane. This is my first time here playing my solo work." As they started their first number I was struck by the contrast to the previous night's crowd in Melbourne. (I counted exactly 69 people inside the Old Museum.) Whereas all Melbourne shows had been rowdy and fun, this minuscule Brisbane crowd, with the exception of a handful of people, was in fact shockingly dull.

Matt and Jake.

Jake and the boys played a predictably great set that included 'Song For Hope' and 'You Must Be Crazy' off his 2013 Embracing Light EP. For 'Overshadowed' off his 2011 It's On EP Jake tried to engage with the small, quiet crowd. As he had at all three Melbourne concerts, Jake encouraged everyone to mimic the sound of a train with a "stomp of the foot and clap of the hands". Another highlight was a beautiful cover of Ryan Adams's ‘Two’, which is one of the finest covers of a song I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Throughout the night Jake demonstrated his musical virtuosity by switching effortlessly from acoustic guitar to saxophone to keyboards. The show finished just before 11:00 with a beautiful ballad called ‘Carry Me Through’ that featured Brett and Matt singing verses beside Jake without instruments.

Being the kind soul that he is, Jake once again hung around and engaged with all of the 69 people in attendance that chose to remain and meet him. What has really impressed me with Jake is that he has provided all of his fans with his time, grace and humility. What really unimpressed me about the Brisbane show was the low level of support for Jake Clemons. The Old Museum is a terrific venue: indoors, climate-controlled and historically important. In a city of two million, where was the turnout? I was later advised by a local that the small crowd was the result of it being a "Saturday night and it was raining".

I steadfastly refute that reason.

A number of years ago a former Queensland Premier advised the Australian public that "they breed them tough north of the border" (in reference to being north of NSW). I would like to suggest that the Premier forgot to say that they also breed the vast majority of them dull north of the border. To all Queenslanders who were at the Springsteen shows in 2013 and 2014 and cheered on Jake Clemons during ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’ and all of his standout sax solos, do yourselves a favour: Have a listen to Embracing Light and start Embracing Life. And when Jake Clemons is an international star in his own right don’t be surprised and get the shits with him for not touring your city.

Jake Clemons @ Toff In Town, Melbourne 13 August 2014

Final encore, performed without a mic, within arm's reach of the crowd.

Jake Clemons kicked off a 10-show tour of Australia in a cozy Melbourne CBD venue called the Toff In Town tonight. Joining him on his first solo tour of a land he's visited the past two years as E Street Band saxophonist were Brett Mayer on keyboards and Matt Musty on percussion. A talented young man named Hamish Anderson opened. They took to the Toff's small stage at 9:55 and left it at 11:45.

Those are the hard facts of tonight's show. At 3:00am I'm bereft of tools to properly capture the courage of Jake's performance, his multi-instrumental prowess, the passion of his vocals, the atmosphere created on a Wednesday night in Melbourne. He returns to Australia a conquering hero after back-to-back tours with Springsteen but takes the stage solo as an unknown entity.

Matt, Jake and Brett.

Jake conceded early in the show that he'd played on much bigger stages in Melbourne but on this night, in this little joint, he felt more nervous. His reaction? Pull no punches, take risks, push his small band, emotionally and physically wade into the audience, offer hope and then deliver it. Parts old-fashioned tent revival, New Orleans street jam and good-time rock & roll singalong, Jake and his quietly brilliant sidemen created a bond with an audience that strengthened with each song. I've listened to Jake's 'Embracing Light' EP many times but can't claim an appreciation for his body of work, so breaking the show down by individual songs is pointless. Obvious highlights included 'Love'll Never Change' from his 'It's On' EP, as the simple act of reaching for his sax brought cheers; a "song about desperation" that Jake introduced by coaching the crowd to provide the sound of a train via "stomp - clap - stomp - clap"; a devastating cover of Ryan Adams' 'Two' that began with an emotional description of hearing the song at the exact moment he realised he "needed to be two people"; a song called 'I Believe' dedicated to his uncle Clarence Clemons that Jake explained was written after being asked to be Best Man at the legendary "Ambassador of Love's" fifth wedding (Jake also offered a warning to "be careful of what you tell me after the show -- I may write a song about it"); and an ethereal, and necessary, 'Song for Hope'.

Jake not only left his oversized heart on the Toff's small stage tonight. He tossed it to the audience in a gesture of faith, hopeful we'd toss it back. Did we? Jake seemed genuinely moved by the crowd's reaction and graciously stuck around for photos and autographs and oddballs like myself shaking his hand afterwards. He played to a crowd that knew his face and sax prowess well but were mostly clueless about his solo work. The tour continues tomorrow night in West Melbourne at a venue called The Substation. My merry band of Jake fans -- and many others in attendance tonight, no doubt -- will follow him there. Something this real and genuine is like sunshine to choked and fading plants.

So of course we embraced the light ...

Jake's got to come up with a way to keep his glasses on.

Jake frequently left his mic to play closer to, and sometimes among, the crowd.

At the conclusion of a song with a particularly jazzy sax solo, Jake tipped his hat to Brett, saying, "That song's never had a saxophone solo."

Inside the Toff.

A lifetime of musicianship was impressively displayed throughout the nearly 2-hour show.

Jake called opening act Hamish Anderson out to jam on a song the talented guitarist "had never heard before soundcheck". Again, a gutsy call, for which Hamish was up to the task.

After thanking the Melbourne crowd, the show ended with the evening's performers before the stage singing an a cappella 'Carry Me Through'.