Jessica Dobson 1.23.07

[So here is my post based purely on memories and assumptions - rough draft ]

This has been driving me nuts: Two weeks later and I still haven't figured out a song she covered at this Prospector show.

If I was a proper blogger I would've taken a note pad, a writing utensil, and a camera. But I'm lazy and this isn't really a music review blog.

So lacking these basic reviewing tools I did what any professional would do: Ordered a beer and pushed my way up for a better view of Jessica Dobson and her new backing band. I remember her starting with song I think was called Dixie Driver, then next to a reworked version of Tsunamo Japan Is Snowed In which stood out in a solo set a year ago on this same stage.

For that show she covered a Smiths song on her guitar (I want to say it was Shyness is Nice Ask - damn I should have written that down) and this night she switched over to bass for what I think might or might not have been a Clash song.*

I'm unsure how recent the musicians backing her up are (I think this is the same drummer from 2005**) but the band did a decent job keeping up with the outwardly confident singer and musician. She didn't hesitate jumping from guitar, to bass, to keyboards on some older material like the song Most Sundays and maybe this confidence I sensed was the enjoyment of a new band dynamic and the knowledge of a new record coming out in April that she was happy with.

When she spoke of her long absents from shows feeling like the scene from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Gene Wilder is limping along and then pulls out a flip, it hinted to a theme that I didn't detect until I was writing this post; with scrapping her first album and the Margo Lee band name, Jessica Dobson has literally and figuratively reworked her sad songs to happier beats.

As a mere listener, those my favorite kind of songs.

*********
Jessica Dobson’s upcoming shows:
Monday Feb 12th @ Detroit Bar -- Costa Mesa
21+, Free *Playing first at 9 pm* with Feb resident band Venus Infers

Sat Feb 17th @ Coconuts - Capistrano Beach
with The Delta Spirit $10 18+

* Ok. So I got over my shyness and asked Jessica Dobson what cover she played. In this case it was "Police and Thieves" - originally done by Junior Murvin (thanks wikipedia) but I only knew it as a Clash song.

**too lazy to confirm

[Jessica Dosbson @ The Prospector photo by Amanda Obrien. ]