It was a celebration. The packed house at NYC’s Mercury Lounge came to sing and dance and make merry, as Dan Bern and the International Jewish Banking Conspiracy cruised through his 2001 masterwork, New American Language with equal measure intensity and ease. The band – most of whom contributed to the album – was led by Bern on acoustic guitar and harmonica, and included its co-producer, Wil Masisiak, on keyboards and background vocals, Brian Shey on bass and vocals, Paul Kuhn on his own invention (the magnificent cellocaster), and finally two drummers: Jake Coffin and Colin Mahoney – both played on the record, but Coffin was the only one to tour it originally.
Ever the wit, Bern began the evening introducing the album by reminding everyone of its unfortunate release date of September 11, 2001. “For some reason, no one was talking about it.” In fine voice, he explored new phrasing and extended melodic asides that put a new sheen on material the audience knew well. Highlights included an emotive version of the album’s title track, a whispered “God Said Know,” the crowd-pleasing ballad “Albuquerque Lullaby,” and the momentum- rich “Black Tornado.” Many of the numbers revealed both the intimacy the band has with the songwriter but also the not-too-rehearsed fluidity that made it feel as if they were working the songs out in their nascent stages, as they might have when they recorded the album 23 years earlier.
Later, Bern used the very same band that adorned its follow-up, Fleeting Days to careen through excellent versions of his pean to lost love, “Baby Bye-Bye,” and the ferocious Elvis-pastiche, “Graceland,” wherein the band was able to truly spread out and jam like old times. Bern ended the evening by leaving the stage to sing the lovely, “Soul,” with the entire room serenading its chorus, “Are you gonna follow your soul / Or just the style of the day?”
On a personal note, it was an honor to be there to enjoy the songs that my wife and I played to death decades earlier and share it with our 15-year-old daughter, Scarlet, who hung out on the lip of the stage and took it all in. It was a magical night all around.
