Concert Review: Jay Brannan - I Suck At Life Tour!

Last night made for an incredible night of music as Jay Brannan continued his "I Suck At Life" Tour and took the stage following two fantastic opening acts: Civalias and Terra Naomi.

The crowd was ready for a great show, and a surprising mix of people. They were pumped and primed and ready to sing along, which they did plenty of.

These three acts together were a perfect blend. Civalias kicked off the show, followed by the stunning Terra Naomi, and finally the main event: Jay Brannan.

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Civilias kicked off the show with some great songs from his EP. If I had to classify him I'd say an American Damien Rice with a bit of Coldplay thrown in for good measure. I had never heard of him before and when I noticed he had a cello player in his band I was instantly interested. I'm hoping we get to review his album and are able to feature him more here because he is going to explode soon.

Civalias only played for a short while but they played through their entire EP and I enjoyed every song. He did a couple numbers alone and with his full band.

It's always great to go to a show for an artist you love and discover someone brand new to listen to. Such is the case with Civalias. It was pretty much instant fandom for me.

Check out his myspace for more information. I really think he will be huge.


Next up was Terra Naomi. What can be said about her? She's amazing. She played a couple songs on keyboards but the majority of the performance was just her and her guitar. This really showed off just how great her voice is. It was a gorgeous and fun show. The highlight of which was her stirring performance of "Say It's Possible." This song is her song but Jay Brannan has included it on his recent covers album. Between the two of them it's almost like two different songs. Last night though, Terra hit it out of the park and sent chills down my spine. Such a brilliant and emotional song. I'm also hoping to be able to feature Terra's upcoming albums here. She has an acoustic CD and a studio LP coming out soon so keep an eye here for more info on those. If you get a chance to see her perform jump on it. She performs at the Hotel Cafe here in Los Angeles (in fact she has a show on August 1) so head out and see her.

Check out her official site for more info!


At last, Jay Brannan. The crowd was ready for him and by the time he took the stage it seemed to have tripled in size.

The last time I saw Jay in concert was at the El Rey a year ago and the crowd at the bar was just yammering away during the show. It was extremely annoying. Here at The Roxy, that wasn't an issue. I heard some chatter a couple times but it wasn't at all taking away from the show.

I have to say that I don't think there is another artist that is as connected with their fans as Jay Brannan is and that is clearly evident during his show. His shows are comfortable and conversational and every song is a work of art. If you look around at the faces in the crowd, they are absolutely enthralled with him and rightly so. His voice and his music are simply captivating.

It's no secret that I am a fan of Jay Brannan. I named his album goddamned the best of the year (2008) and to be honest had it come out this year so far it'd be the best again. His latest album, In Living Cover, is an exquisite collection of cover songs and last night songs from both albums were on display. He is a consummate performer who sits on that stage with just his guitar and his voice and his words and for that hour and a half (give or take) everyone in the room belonged to him.

He was clearly glad to be there, mentioning how excited he was to be performing on the same stage as one of his favorites, Lisa Loeb. It was truly a great experience to see. Each song sounded incredible. I don't think there is anyone who sounds better right now. There is a reason I keep returning to his albums. I love these songs and seeing them live is a whole new experience. I'm not one to see bands over and over again, except in certain cases. For Jay, I'll go everytime he comes to town.


The crowd sang along with nearly every song. One that they did not sing along with was the title track from goddamned. During this song, which is a scathing track about religion, the crowd was completely silent and I don't think anyone even moved (outside of the occasional snap of cameras). It was a riveting performance of a haunting song and just further proved how into Jay his fans are.

Throughout the show, he cracked jokes, told a story about a TSA agent's desire for happy songs, credited Terra Naomi for inspiring him to start making his YouTube videos (which continues today), which in turn pretty much launched his music career, and played some amazing amazing songs.

He even performed a song requested by someone in the audience, "Straight Outta Compton."

I don't have a track list for you but he did my two favorite songs off In Living Cover: "Beautifully" and "Good Mother," along with fan favorites like "Can't Have It All" and "Soda Shop" plus many more.

From the time Jay Brannan steps onto the stage, you're his. I can attribute this to two possible things. The first is that he is nothing if not real. He doesn't try to be perfect, in fact, he embraces his flaws. He never tries to be anything other that who and what he is and does not apologize for his feelings. It's a refreshing honesty that is woefully missing from the mainstream and is a major part of his music.

The next is the songs themselves. You realize these may be his songs he is singing, but these stories, these experiences, can belong to anyone. He could be singing your story. Your life. I think this is one reason why his fans, myself included, are so loyal to him. He is their voice.

And what a voice it is.

Jay's I Suck At Life Tour continues on to the following stops:

July 24 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill (new: ALL AGES!)
July 25 Portland, OR Doug Fir (EARLY show / 21+)
July 26 Seattle, WA Crocodile (EARLY show / 21+)
July 29 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge (18+)
July 30 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club (18+)
Sept 4 Amsterdam, NL Sugar Factory
Sept 7 Köln, DE Stadtgarten
Sept 8 Frankfurt am Main, DE Nachtleben
Sept 9 München, DE 59:1
Sept 11 Berlin, DE Frannz Club
Sept 12 Hamburg, DE Knust
Sept 14 Milano, IT La Casa 139
Sept 15 Roma, IT Circolo degli Artisti
Sept 19 Madrid, ES Orange Café
Sept 20 Barcelona, ES Luz de Gas


By the way. we just opened our Flickr page and we've added a few of the shots from the show with more to come.