Jesse a regular visitor to these shores is over here this time to celebrate twenty years since the release of his debut album, the rightly heralded ‘The fine art of self-destruction’. It’s a packed out Garage tonight full of like-minded and like aged souls who have bene on this ride since that time.
First a word to his excellent band tonight, Derek Cruz on guitar, Rob Clores on keyboard, James Cruz on bass and Paul Garisto on drums who was behind the kit on the album too. They kept the groove going all through Malin’s many forays into the crowd, taking in all four corners of the stalls and then ending up at the very back of the venue where he proceeds to order neat vodka while still singing not missing a beat.
I was thinking how best to describe tonight as its wasn’t just a nostalgic trip down memory lane but the songs still sounded as fresh today as they did twenty years ago. It’s rock n roll that’s for sure while still retaining that punk edge.
As much a raconteur as he is singer we are regaled with life and love in New York before, during and after the making of this record. If there’s one thing to say about Malin is that he’s a survivor with many of the shout outs between his songs for long lost comrades in arms.
The set tonight is, of course, all of that great album but it’s interspersed with selected tracks from throughout his career and only serves to demonstrate that he is not just a one trick pony with many a fine album produced in those intervening years too.
There’s covers too from second track the Pogues’ ‘If I should fall from grace with god’, through to the Replacements ‘Bastards of Young’. I often say on a night of highlights it’s difficult to pick one and tonight is definitely one of those nights but of course we are treated to a great version of ‘Brooklyn’ and a word for ‘Queen of the Underworld’ too.
So a superb rock and roll show of more than two hours performed by a band on top of their game and a front man who grabs the crowd by the lapels and leads us through this musical journey of the New York boroughs over the last twenty plus years.
Keep on punk rock n rollin’ y’all
ps, setlist may be a bit off, my memory isnt what it used to be.