Wednesday saw Mike and I rendezvous for a night in the company of Josh Rouse.
I got held up at work, so I headed straight to Stroud, tired, hot and bothered but looking forward to the show. Waiting outside the Subscription Rooms, I unexpectedly bumped into a couple of colleagues before Mike and his friend Duncan arrived.
After introductions and a short queue at the bar, we took our seats, prepared to be entertained. And entertained we most certainly were.
Support came from Jo Dudderidge, formerly with The Travelling Band, now recording solo as Later Youth. I'd heard of The Travelling Band, but not heard The Travelling Band, so I didn't know what to expect.
The set showcased songs from Living History, his debut album as Later Youth, and it was consistently great: Nuclear Love, Hotel Venezuela ("about a couple of lesbians who saved me from a broken heart") and On The Missing.
The album version featured Lissie, and Jo recounted a previous gig at the Sub Rooms as her support.
"Were any of you of here for that one?" Jo asked the audience.
[silence]
"I thought there might have been one or two of you!"
No Lissie for the live performance, but Jo gave a good account of the song, the entire set to be honest, with endearing introductions and back stories in between. An ear-opening start to the evening.
Then, with a very short break, the stage was cleared and prepped and Josh Rouse arrived for the main event. Again, a stripped back affair, with Josh on acoustic guitar, and occasional harmonica and whistles.
The gig was promoted as "Josh Rouse Plays Nashville", held by many to be his finest album. Back in 2021, I posted a Dubhed selection, whilst freely admitting that I had a smattering of songs but didn't own a single Josh Rouse album. I concluded that "I really need to immerse myself in more of Josh Rouse's music."
I've done poorly in the intervening three and a half years, adding only a handful more offcuts and stray songs to my collection. So, apart from 4 or 5 songs, I sat in the audience, still largely ignorant of the Nashville album, advertised as the focus of the show.
As it turned out, Josh was playing whatever he wanted to play, and so four titles from Nashville (2005) appeared in a 19 or 20 song set. Thankfully, all ones I was familiar with, including the sublime Winter In The Hamptons.
Josh's previous album 1972 (2003) also got a fair shake, the evening opening with Sunshine (Come On Lady), and including Rise, Love Vibration and the title track.
The rest of the performance spanned Josh's debut album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska (1998) through to Going Places (2022). All mostly new to me, all delivered with a soaring grace that was served well by the sympathetic venue.
There were a few covers too. Three songs, Josh introduced "a song I wish I'd written", with an understated version of Ron Sexsmith's Lebanon, Tennessee. A member of the audience* captured the performance and you can find it here.
Later on, we were treated to a vibrant cover of Nick Lowe's Cruel To Be Kind, originally a 1978 B-side for Brinsley Schwarz, before Nick was convinced to re-record it as a solo single in 1979, when it became a global hit. Josh fondly recalled the song as one that meant a lot to him growing up. I'm a similar age to Josh - like many in the audience - and it received a warm reception from us all.
The third and final cover version brought the evening to a close, a beautiful take on Buddy Holly's 1957 smash, Everyday. A wonderful way to end a wonderful set.
After the show, I joined the queue at the merch stand and got to have a brief hello and chat with Josh. Every bit as affable off stage as on.
And I finally got my first Josh Rouse album, on glorious vinyl and signed by the great man himself.
"They delivered a box full [of Nashville] to me today," Josh had told us earlier. "I'm hoping to sell a few at the end, as I don't fancy lugging them all back to the hotel after the show."
I was glad to help relief Josh's burden!
After such an enjoyable introduction to Later Youth, I also couldn't go home without a copy of Living History. On glorious cream vinyl, to boot. Again, a few words with Jo at the merch stand, and an equally lovely bloke to speak to.
The setlist for the Stroud show hasn't been posted online, but a glance at Josh's gigs either side in Hassocks and Gateshead will give you a pretty good idea, though the Buddy Holly cover appears to have been a one-off.
Given my still-limited collection of his music, today's selection instead features 10 songs from the Stroud show, in the order they were performed. As with my previous Josh Rouse selection in 2021, I've split this into two sides, to replicate the album listening experience.
I've reactivated links to the 2021 selection, which includes songs such as Rise and Winter In The Hamptons, also performed on Wednesday.
Enjoy!
Side 1
1) Sunshine (Come On Lady) (Live @ Exit/In, Nashville, Tennessee, 31 December 2003)
2) Henry Miller's Flat (Live @ The Library, The Moorestown Community House, 13 September 2024)
3) Dressed Up Like Nebraska (Live @ Today In Nashville, WSMV-TV) (2018)
4) It's The Nighttime (Album Version) (2013)
5) 1972 (Album Version) (2003)
Side 2
1) Quiet Town (Album Version) (2006)
2) Sad Eyes (Album Version) (2011)
3) Directions (Album Version) (2000)
4) Salton Sea (#OCBPaperSessions!) (2018)
5) Come Back (Light Therapy) (Album Version) (2003)
You can find Tragic Endings (Side 1 & 2) from October 2021 here.
* Many thanks to Peter Dean for the cover photo and clip of Josh's cover of Ron Sexsmith. And thanks also to Mike, who provided the other pic of Josh on stage. Album photos are my own!
