In 1985, Souther turned his attention to writing songs. After a long hiatus, he returned to recording and in 2008 he released If The World Was You - his long-awaited album that was described as "music for everybody...human being music". In 2010, JD embarked on a solo tour, which included a stop at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair, New Jersey on January 15, 2010 for an evening of songs and personal stories. The Outpost series hosts concerts at a number of venues in the Essex County town. The Souther show was held in the acoustically friendly confines of The Unitarian Universalist church which was an intimate setting with striking wood floors and rafters.

In addition to music, Outpost in the Burbs is involved in community outreach. Their greeting included a collection for relief efforts in Haiti. They then invited on stage (the church alter) one of their honorary board of directors and a major advocate for the organization - Pete Fornatale. The legendary WNEW disc jockey has been on New York radio for years, is a voice of his generation, and had many tales to tell.

On this occasion Fornatale was promoting his book "Back To The Garden". His presentation was on the historic Woodstock concert. His commentary on that famed landmark event was educational and entertaining and included an original audio clip of him reading the radio ad for the concert. Pete relayed that the cost for the three day event in 1969 was $18.00 and he quipped that now that's the "convenience" fee you pay to buy a ticket. He also noted that although The Beatles were not physically present at Woodstock they were there in sprit through their influences on others.

Fornatale then proceeded to demonstrate how The Beatles' music touches people in different ways with an impressive video of a guy juggling to the medley from Abbey Road. Lastly, there was a clip of Joe Cocker's performance at Woodstock with subtitles of what he might have actually been singing. This hilarious presentation got a lot of laughs from the crowd.

At around 9:15 p.m. Pete introduced JD Souther who thanked Fornatale for playing his records over the years. JD was clad in a gray suit and armed with an acoustic guitar. His show included a mix of stories and introspective songs.

JD Souther is currently on tour in support of his 2008 release If The World Was You.

"I'll Be Here at Closing Time" was the second song of the set and featured precise picking and pretty lyrics about love. Referring to Pete's presentation, JD asked why Joni (Mitchell) was not at Woodstock. There were a number of answers before JD played a striped down version of "New Kid In Town" with varied vocalizations.

"Should I start with a hymn, I grew up in the Baptist church," stated Souther as he took a seat at the piano to play "Jesus in 3/4 Time". "A Chorus of Your Own" was choppy as J.D. had to ask for a lyric sheet but he filled the space with praises for vinyl records and a story about the day comedian Victor Borge baby-sat for him when he was four years old.

"I wrote this one for my little sister... later done by the Dixie Chicks... they did it as a harmony song," Souther said as he played the compelling "I'll Take Care of You". Continuing with commentary JD mentioned that he went to Cuba in 1998 -- traveling with other artists on a songwriting mission in which they collaborated with Cuban musicians. This was a lead into "Rain" - a serious song that was lyrically visual and vibrant in its gentle flow.

Souther made a few political points but seemed pleased with the direction of the Obama administration. JD reminded folks to vote with their dollars before closing his set with "You're Only Lonely". During the encore he commented on his custom guitars. Thanking the audience Souther said that he liked playing churches with good sound and great audiences. "The Secret Handshake of Fate" was slow and serious but JD ended with the up-beat "Best of My Love".

Souther remarked that he would be returning to the region - first as a trio - and then later in the year with a six-piece band. JD connected intimately with the audience on this night flying solo -- we can't wait to see how high he'll soar with some backup players added to the mix.

JD SOUTHER SETLIST:
Simple Man, Simple Dream
I'll Be Here at Closing Time
Bye Bye Blackbird
New Kid In Town
Jesus in 3/4 Time
A Chorus of Your Own
I'll Take Care of You
In My Arms Tonight
Silver Blue
Rain
Faithless Love
You're Only Lonely
Encore
The Secret Handshake Of Fate
Best Of My Love

Pete Fornatale during his Back To The Garden presentation. (Photo by Todd Boressoff)

Related Links: For more information on JD SOUTHER and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- JD Souther Website | Buy If The World Was You | Pete Fornatale | Buy Back To The Garden | outpostintheburbs.org

Originally Published: 01/17/2010 on Kweevak.com