22 years ago, outstanding folk pop to drony ambient experimentalist Jim O’Rourke played a last-minute gig in Tokyo to help out a promoter friend. In his bag, a lended guitar, his voice, his laptop and inside it some mutated Spice Girls and Tracy Chapman classics. An intimate setting full of timeless renditions that were recorded under the cloak by some unknown fan and uploaded on the internet under the brief yet extensive name ‘Live at Japan 2002‘. No pics of the show, and only a strange fan-made collage as an artwork to open an hour-long portal of serenity.
In the bootleg’s intro, O’Rourke stretches out the instrumental of the Spice Girls’ 1998 hit “Viva Forever”, drawing out a fairy world by an ethereal long-form ambient piece. 10 minutes after, ambient sounds, but now those of a quiet crowd before O’Rourke goes on to perform 4 songs of his own from his 1997 to 2001 run of wonderfully crafted pop records. “If I were to die with these things on, I’d be frozen with a smile”, with only his comfy voice conversing with sensible and playful guitar, he delivers chamber folk personal stories with elegant and expert restraint. Memorable lyrics and guitar phrases all along, such as this “If I were to die with these things on, I’d be frozen with a smile” that ends his lowkey performance of “Life Goes On”. Perfect.
Room noises, discreet coughs, a watch beeping. It’s not enough to wake someone up from reverie, as O’Rourke begins to unfold a 30 mins long infused take on Tracy Chapman’s 1988 anthem “Fast Car”. The looped iconic guitar motif is joined by O’Rourke’s spin to the lyrics as additional acoustic elements appear. They progressively all collide and melt together in layers of room-filling drones, purposely embracing atmosphere with magnetism. At this point, everything is dissolved in a timeless state that is being dragged from the ephemeral by the one spectator’s recording device. Then it all resolves, melodies reappear as O’Rourke goes on for a final cycle of heartfelt vocals before leaving his guitar alone to depart from the moment by noodling towards eternity.
🖋️ Antoine Malo
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