Jordan Cooper, Sidewalk Cafe 1-19-2005

Ahhh, January 19, 2005! I don't remember much about this show except that the room was fairly empty and that my relationship was in trouble, though I didn't consciously understand why. My girlfriend at the time is sitting right there as I do multiple songs about our relationship about to end. These things are like...not unconscious decisions but they aren't fully conscious decisions either. One of these songs is Not Gonna Stop You.

Next is Back Of Your Mind, which was a true song about a girl I had asked out who neglected to mention she had a boyfriend and brought him on the date with us. "AWKWARD!!" This is a fun song I really like but I have no idea what context it should exist, it seems out of place on an album for some reason.

I want to point out as compared to shows from 2002/2003 I've posted, here I have had my tonsils removed and my voice can project much better and sing much smoother, without all the nasal stuffiness. Likewise, my guitar playing is top notch here, my strumming frantic and tight. I like my old shows too but the shows from 2005 and on are really me at what I consider peak performing and is closer to what my albums and current stuff sound like.

Next I do a super speed version of Party in the Gardens (a song about appreciating Kew Gardens, my hometown.) Compare this version to the clumsy version from Oct 2002! I mean wow. Or should I say ow, because my hand was hurting at this show from the fast strumming, which you can hear me talk about.

Next is what may be my favorite song of mine, The Usual Way. This was about my failing relationship, i.e. the girl sitting in front of me. I added a moody instrumental to the end called So Long, which was again a sign to myself and to her that things were ending (there's some sort of inherent wordplay in the title So Long, like our relationship went too long and also goodbye?) The Usual Way became a song I played at almost every performance ever from then on, even open mics. I love it.

I announce And I'm Gone as a new song and that "this is the sad portion of the show." This might clue me in as to what And I'm Gone is about because at this moment I am unsure, but it seems like I did in Jan 2005. Unresolved chords = people don't know when to clap. Then I perform A Boy My Age with a cute introduction, I like that. I also implore you to compare this confident tight fast rocking performance of it with any of the early versions from 2002/2003.

Speaking of which, next I do Everyone Believes Me, a very solid performance too. I'm not doing much stage banter here for two reasons: I felt very sad and didn't feel like making jokes, and two, there wasn't many people there and I felt bad making my friends have to sit there all night, so I tried to keep things moving. It was a sad night but the melancholy of the show is appealing to me now, it makes it have a different feel than other ones.

Next I premiere another new doomed relationship song called Lucky One ("maybe I haven't been the greatest friend or boyfriend") but with a fictional hook: it's about a guy addicted to lotto tickets. But really it was about my current relationship. This song is musically complex as hell. I forgot all about the instrumental bridge, which was supposed to sound like scratching lotto tickets.

Never, Ever is another song chosen for its melancholy doomed relationship feel. This song is kind of a play on "Once In A Lifetime" thematically, or at least about a midlife crisis. I was really feeling it here, I can tell. "The more I know, the worse it goes."

Then I perform two songs written for the Teen Boat comic book by Dave Roman. It was fun to make sad songs about a silly idea. Venice Love Theme was meant to be like a 69 Love Song. Walk On Me is an elaborate and complex song and I'm proud of it. This may seem like a silly diversion but they were also chosen to reflect my current state of mind, i.e. sad.

Next I play I Won't Be There, a song very much about my then current relationship. Then Terrible Mistake, a quiet favorite. My friend then asks for my song When You Say, which wasn't fully written yet (but I finally finished it a year ago, it's on my soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/troubles-afoot/when-you-say) , but someone else requests Settle Down, so I do it!

Next I perform a huge favorite of mine that hasn't shown up in these videos until now, Spoken For. Spoken For was a love song written for my then-girlfriend, so, yeah. Then I do Bowtie Guy by request, though if you look closely, you can tell I don't want to! I wanted to do only sad songs.

I end with All You People Leave, a song about having a panic attack at a party which will also end my second album, coming soon???
Setlist:

Not Gonna Stop You
Back Of Your Mind
Party in the Gardens
The Usual Way plus So Long
And I'm Gone
A Boy My Age
Everyone Believes Me
Lucky One
Never, Ever
Venice Love Theme
Walk On Me
I Won't Be There
Terrible Mistake
Settle Down
Spoken For
Bowtie Guy
All You People Leave

Видео Jordan Cooper, Sidewalk Cafe 1-19-2005 канала Jordan Cooper Stuff