Josh Rouse: “Love Vibration” (live in Denver last night) and bonus EP tunes; new Jason Collett

Josh Rouse kicked off his current tour last night in Denver in support of his excellent new album Country Mouse, City House. I’ve been trying to catch Rouse live for over two years, but this was my first success – I very thoroughly enjoyed his unique fusion of soulful songwriter rock with elements of jazz, blues and funk, along with his velvety smooth voice. It was excellent and I highly recommend catching him when you can.

The Bluebird was very full for a Tuesday night, with lots of enthusiastic fans — and Josh’s family who came in from Nebraska for the show. I randomly found myself talking to his mom after the concert, who was charming and just pleased as punch at both the show and the support. It was sweet. Here was the setlist, and it’s always dim in the Bluebird but I tried with a few still shots also:

I’ve been really digging the little bonus EP of nine songs that comes with the new album. It’s called Country Mouse Companion, and it digs up demo versions, lost tunes, old recordings and different versions of songs that made it to the album. Here’s a sample, it’s for sale at the shows too:

It Looks Like Love (live in studio demo)
Clear Coast (again with band at Eric Fritch’s house)
Hollywood Bass Player (demo in Valencia at home)

Support was provided by the wonderful Jason Collett from Broken Social Scene, whose lyrical imagery is amazing, and has a lovely voice with an unexpectedly sharp, raw crackle to it that pierces me. Here’s a short clip of him performing Hangover Days last night, which he’s also duetted with Feist on. He has a new album due in January on Arts & Crafts, and he told us the title last night for the first time and I am a failure to you all and I forgot it.

Sorry Lori – Jason Collett (new song from forthcoming album)
Hangover Days (with Feist) – Jason Collett

JOSH ROUSE ON TOUR
(first eleven dates with Jason Collett)
Sep 19 – Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 21 – North Shore PAC, Seattle, WA
Sep 22 – Night Light, Bellingham, WA
Sep 24 – Plaza Nightclub, Vancouver, BC
Sep 25 – Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
Sep 27 – Independent, San Francisco, CA
Sep 28 – El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
Sep 29 – Hotel Congress, Tucson, AZ
Sep 30 – Golden West Saloon, Albuquerque, NM
Oct 3 – Workplay, Birmingham, AL
Oct 4 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
Oct 5 – Exit/In, Nashville, TN
Oct 6 – Exit/In, Nashville, TN
Oct 23 – Southgate House, Cincinnati, OH
Oct 25 – Park West, Chicago, IL
Oct 26 – Turner Hall, Milwaukee, WI
Oct 27 – Fineline Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MI
Oct 28 – The Annex, Madison, WI
Nov 1 – Somerville Theater, Boston, MA
Nov 2 – Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY
Nov 3 – Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY
Nov 21 – Theatre, Murcia, Spain
Nov 22 – Joy Eslava, Madrid, Spain
Nov 23 – Cormoran, Valencia, Spain
Nov 24 – Bikini, Barcelona, Spain
Nov 26 – Aula Magna, Lisbon, Portugal
Nov 27 – Theatro Circo, Braga, Portugal
Nov 29 – The Plug, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Nov 30 – Academy 2, Manchester, United Kingdom
Dec 1 – QMU, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Dec 3 – The Sage 2, Gateshead, United Kingdom
Dec 4 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Dec 5 – Academy, Bristol, United Kingdom
Dec 7 – Academy, Oxford, United Kingdom
Dec 8 – Concorde 2, Brighton, United Kingdom
Dec 9 – Shepherds Bush Empire, London, United Kingdom
Dec 11 – The Village, Dublin, Ireland
Dec 12 – Dolan’s, Limerick, Ireland
Dec 13 – Cyprus Avenue, Cork, Ireland
Feb 4 – Cayamo Music Cruise, Caribbean