There’s no question that J. Robbins can still rock-out—Jawbox‘s recent sorta-reunion proved that much (although NBC Universal seems to have stricken the video footage from the internet). But nailing the coffee house vibe? That’s another mater entirely.
Friday night Robbins—accompanied by cellist Gordon Withers and the smallest drum machine I’ve ever seen—performed an all acoustic concert as part of the The Writer’s Centers’ Story/Stereo series. As it turns out, the songs come across just fine sans full-stack.
Robbins and Withers were kind enough to let Washington City Paper shoot some footage of their soundcheck, including a cover of John Cale‘s “Thoughtless Kind” that didn’t make it into the final set.
Baltimore-based music blog Aural States has posted a recording of the full performance here.
“Thoughtless Kind” (John Cale)
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-gOSqwcaoc]
More after the jump:
“Escape Engine” (Burning Airlines)
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU0UxwC6nvg]
“Scissoring” (Burning Airlines)
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvqvCOzayz4]