A one-man divisive view of Joe Pug

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

On one hand, I really enjoy his 2008 E.P., Nation of Heat. Yes, it has a big Dylan vibe, but the songs stood well on their own.

That's why, even a couple of days later, I'm still torn about Pug's performance at The Canopy Club in Urbana on Sunday. Yes, he was a competent performer, with a strangely compelling personality, and yes, he has the voice to be a good folk singer.


After seeing him live though, I have to think his whole is forced. Pug's voice does not sound (or, when he's singing, look) natural, and the songs seemed to lose something in concert. The three-chords-and-a-harmonica vibe works better on record, and even if the songs hold up, they have to be better than they are (the only exception to this was "Hymn #101," a stream-of-conscious song that he milked for all it was worth).

In fact, the best part of the show had to be the cover of Tom Waits' "Ol' 55" that he and a member of opening band Horse Feathers did. It seemed a bit sloppy, a bit unrehearsed, but at the same time it signaled he was not completely set in his ways. He was willing to branch out, take a little bit of a risk.

And that's exactly what Joe Pug will need to do if he wants to move forward: try new things. The three-chord folk song won't work forever (getting a harmonica in a different key will help that as well), there needs to be something more than that.

Oh, and stop listening to early Bob Dylan. That vibe was there way too much to be anything new and unique. Let your own personality, which is plenty unique, shine through.

Horse Feathers was less divisive for me. Their bluegrass/homespun vibe was really amped up in concert, even if they were battling a poor sound system and a crowd that seemed indifferent to their set (one member even commented on that towards the end of their set).

Still, their set was worth watching, as their songs evoked something along the lines of a campfire sing-a-long (with better songs than any campfire sing-a-long would yield). With the addition of a banjo, rudimentary percussion and, at one point, a handsaw, their music almost bordered on old-style gothic, but was saved from that with the voice of lead singer Jason Ringle.