Gaines seduces with smooth, sexy sounds

Sometimes the power is simply in the voice, in the way the vibrations of sound can coat words with a new authority, an indescribable presence. Beyond the surroundings -- art deco Starr Hill -- beyond even the person of the artist himself -- singer/songwriter Jeffrey Gaines -- it's the resonant sounds that carry with them the power to physically strike listeners. And, when we're talking about the sexy, raspy voice of Gaines, these are pretty hard blows.

Talking to the crowd last night, near the end of the show, Gaines spoke out, saying that he sings to "speak for those silenced and do something with it. Protest is the only political statement that the powers-that-be can't take from me." And with the Bob Dylan cover that followed, Gaines fired that shot: Vietnam-age anti-war lyrics revived in today's tense political milieu. And they still have an immense amount of power, wrapped in the wide-ranging and yet almost throaty voice of Gaines.

Something about that voice screams out, demanding that it be heard and acknowledged; with his voice, Gaines insists that you listen and soak in his message.

Even if not always political, Gaines is always serious when it comes to his sound. And his presence comes wrapped up in that voice, especially when you get to the chilling sigh of his romantic leanings. "I was gathering all the things I had to tell you ... I was dreaming of the last time we lie together ... cause when you're not here, love disappears ... cause frame after frame, the dream ends the same." Good enough when read lyrically, but heard through Gaines' delivery, the words mean more. They're deeper, somehow, and damned enticing.

Describing his own show as dominated by a "mellow theme," Gaines plays as to a lover, alone in a bedroom, instead of on a well-lit public stage. And therein lies his power. Talking to the audience, Gaines remarked on how he receives letter after letter, women telling him how one song just must have been sung to them in particular. Laughing it off, he jokes about the "whole polyamorous group thing" instead. Witty. But Gaines voiced his own musical power when he described the ability of his voice to touch people, make them feel alone in the room -- touched by a lover -- instead of surrounded by strangers.

For Gaines, it's all about the power of a single song to touch people, however it has to be done. With his remake of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" still receiving radio play and VH1 video time -- where in a "parallel universe ... it's 4 a.m. man and I'm a famous cat" -- he opened up to the audience about the way that song came about. "I was opening for Tom Petty in Europe ... and I'm writing songs about growing up in Pennsylvania ... this was a way to come together." The remake of a classic known worldwide was his way to touch non-English speaking listeners. And it worked: Gaines had a "sea" of 10,000 people screaming the words along with him. It's the power of that voice, wrapped around the remade lyrics fans already knew.

And here's the one problem with Gaines:Live, he's phenomenal, and as if I haven't said it enough, it's all about the presence of that voice. But lyrically, he can come up lacking. "Love Me" -- a song on his new album, "Toward the Sun," and one sung Tuesday night -- consists mainly of a pretty simplistic chorus. "Hold me, Kiss me, Touch me, Love me, Need me, Want me, Hold me, Love me." Of course it's titillating -- again, like something sung to a lover in the bedroom -- but it's nothing particularly challenging to write. A lot of his lyrics, while not quite as straightforward, are similarly flawed. The feeling is there, undeniably, but the words themselves aren't all that stunning.

On the up side, it takes an incredible singer to turn those lyrics into a heart-pounding acoustic song, one that becomes a sigh and a smile on the face of every female listener. There's a world of talent -- and a lifetime of emotion -- in that voice.

As surprising as it may be, then, considering the presence of his voice, Gaines is new to the role of the singer/songwriter. While he released his first album in 1992, most of his career has been opening at big rock shows. Even now, he's the "up part of the evening" to counter Tori Amos.

So Gaines comes up on stage, stands in front of this mellow Starr Hill audience and apologizes for being a "bad house guest." He claims to have no clue how to do the singer/songwriter thing, where the artist is supposed to make everyone feel comfortable. In his words, "That's why I write songs, man."

And then he goes on to blow everyone away with his humor and his ability to make (of course) everyone feel at home.

Between two phenomenal Bob Dylan covers and his own releases, Gaines hit up the audience with personal stories. New York City and the games you can't win on the streets (believe him; he's lost those games already). And the smoke machine that he mistakenly took on tour with him at one point. "It was just havoc man ... no one could find the tables ... Javier in the kitchen was pissed." If a singer/songwriter is only as good as his stage presence, then Gaines has found his stage (so to speak).

The crowd at Starr Hill on a Tuesday night was, of course, small, especially seated at these artistically separated tables. But the intimate crowd fell in love with Jeff Gaines, or at least those who weren't already in love with him. Part of it was his humor and his political message -- this is leftist Charlottesville, after all. But with that voice, he sure as hell was singing to each of us alone, making love to us with his words.

Cavalier Daily Janitor

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