Pete Yorn Loves His Band

Or so he said in song last night.

Cindee and I caught the lovely Pete Yorn and his acoustic show last night at Smith’s Olde Bar. It’s not a stretch to say that a good time was had by all. He had a great time on stage, even though it was his fourth show in 48 hours. Mr. Yorn has quite the darling personality, and charmed us with his onstage banter. (Gizmorox, he said he’ll be back in the fall, so keep that couch reserved.)

Yes, he’s pretty … but he can also sing

Pete kicked off the evening with his solo acoustic Divorce set, with “Life on a Chain,” Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds,” and The Smith’s “Unlovable.” He proceeded to play all of my favorite Yorn tunes, except for “Murray” — but I forgave him since we were so close to his adorable face.

Pete Yorn, in fine performance form

But there were two standouts for me last night:

Highlight #1: Pete’s cover of Warren Zevon’s “Splendid Isolation.” It was glorious hearing that song live again; it’s been 10 years since I last heard Warren perform it. I blew out my voice singing along with Pete. “Splendid Isolation” followed his cover of The Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” — two songs, he noted, that don’t really go together. And yet they did.

Highlight #2: Pete started the encore with “A Girl Like You,” which may be my Yorn fave. But, then, I do love "Life on the Chain" and "Strange Condition" ... his cover of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" ... "Just Another" and "Closet" ...

Pete sings “A Girl Like You”

Pete also sang several new songs; based on what I heard, the new album (Nightcrawler, out August 29) should be good. Each show's setlist is on PeteYorn.com, so click here for last night's lineup.

Why the f*ck do people pay good money for a concert ticket just to chat and party and ignore the performance right in front of them? We were surrounded by a pack of thirtysomething post-frat boys reliving their glory days at the house, flirting and yelling and laughing and talking about the good ol’ days — everything but listening to and enjoying the show. During a solo acoustic set. At the front of the crowd. That room stretched far behind us, with plenty of room for socializing. Can’t they fraternize back there? F*cking rude weasels. I nearly kicked them in the shins, but Pete brought me from the negativity to the positivity (you had to be there).

You may think you’re unfamiliar with Pete Yorn, but chances are you’re not. He’s a regular on the soundtrack circuit, including:

• Shrek 2: Cover of The Buzzcock’s “Ever Fallen in Love”
• Me, Myself, and Irene and Forty Days and Forty Nights: “Strange Condition”
• Spiderman: “Undercover”
• Stuck on You: “It Never Rains in California”
• Just Like Heaven: “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”
• Hellboy: “Red Right Hand”

Pete has also participated on some good tribute albums, covering the Ramone’s “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (We're A Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones) and Warren Zevon’s “Splendid Isolation” (Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon).

Pretty boy. Great songs. Yep, I like that Pete Yorn. I might catch his show when he returns this fall.

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