Elliott Smith
Figure 8
On Sale Now
For $13.48

It was a sold out Friday night crowd at the 9:30 that got an earful of Elliott Smith’s new record Figure 8. Fortunately, the record contains some of Smith’s strongest material. But a few in the crowd who shouted requests for older songs may have come away a bit disappointed. Still, it’s hard to argue with the exquisitely bummed-out song selections Smith did choose to grace us with.

Backed by a three piece band, including longtime collaborator Sam Coomes (Heatmiser, Quasi) on bass and backing vocals, Smith opened the show with two older songs, "Ballad of Big Nothing" from 1997’s Either/Or and "Independence Day" from 1998’s XO. But from there, it was a heavy dose of Figure 8. Smith was in fine voice on the piano ballad "Everything Means Nothing to Me" and a dynamic "Son of Sam."

The band didn’t leave the shy Smith much time in-between songs to say much. Instead they kept things moving along and sounded tight on excellent new songs like "Junk Bond Trader" and the rocking "LA." An extended "Stupidity Tries" had a buoyant, full sound as well.

The prolific Smith pulled out three unrecorded new songs with titles like "Just Between Us," "Ugly Before," and "I Live In A Cage," which continue the confessional themes of his earlier work.

Smith mostly steered clear of his more popular songs like "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting Soundtrack, "Baby Britain" from XO, or "Say Yes" from Either/Or. A mid-set version of Either/Or’s "Cupid’s Trick" seemed an unlikely selection from Smith’s back catalogue but it sported a new intro and more rocking live sound than the somewhat lo-fi recorded version.

Smith also took on two more songs from XO, "Amity" and "A Question Mark," before wrapping his main set with a nice version of Figure 8’s slow building "Can’t Make A Sound."

The first encore included a nice take on the Beatle-esque "Color Bars" with just acoustic guitar and piano. An up-tempo "Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud" followed. And the haunting "Happiness" sounded darker in the live setting than the poppy recorded version.

A second encore included Smith’s solo renditions of the pretty ballads "Easy Way Out" and "I Better Be Quiet Now." On the latter, Smith flubbed the ending and reacted in shy embarrassment as the supportive crowd cheered. "Don’t tell anybody," he said. "I can’t end that way." Fortunately he didn’t. Smith brought the band back out to bring the show to a close on a note-perfect cover of the Let It Be George Harrison nugget "I Me Mine."

But the brief solo set may have made a few folks wish Smith would turn around and play another entire show without the band. His intimate, quiet style lends itself well to the kind of solo acoustic performances he has been known to give, most recently on a mini-tour this past spring before Figure 8’s release. There is something about his brilliant, complex acoustic guitar playing, personal songs and resigned, melancholy voice (ideally with a touch of reverb) that is transporting in that setting.

But Smith on this tour seems to have found a sympathetic backing band that doesn’t drown him out or bludgeon the songs to death and that can provide the layered harmonies of his newer songs. Plus much of the arranged and orchestrated material on Figure 8 almost requires the songs be heard in the full band setting. The 9:30 Club audience on this night was fortunate enough to get at least a little bit of the best of both worlds.

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