Johnson and the Marquee are better together
“Our dreams, and they are made out of real things, Like a shoebox of photographs, With sepia-toned loving, Love is the answer"
These sweet sentiments are from ‘Better Together’, the song that got the biggest cheer at Jack Johnson’s gig last night. Well, apart from when he weaved a couple of lines from our beloved Cranberries classic ‘Linger’, into his ‘Sitting, Waiting, Wishing’ number.
The 43-year-old former professional surfer magicked the Marquee into a bubble of positivity last night, creating a safe space for all to sway along to his sexy, soulful tunes, making us all better together.
Jack Johnson getting a lil bit trippy last night in the Marquee Cork..
— OrlaOVisual (@OrlaOVisualArt) July 3, 2018
Mesmerising!@jackjohnson #liveatthemarquee #corklike #jackjohnson pic.twitter.com/yJYUobTOPv
Indeed, you could hardly move for all the salty-haired, boardie-wearing, leather-necklace-swinging, thong- flapping (the shoes, not the underwear) dudes and dudettes around the place.
I even think I heard “you should have been there yesterday, man, it was totally working off the bar, head-high, onshore, almost perfect, man” more than once, but that, perhaps, was the company I was keeping.
Being married to a surfer has many benefits. Beingintroduced to the music of Jack Johnson, for example. And living in Hawaii at the time. That was cool. Listening to interminable conversations about wave sizes and wind direction — not so much. But hey, if the World Cup has taught me anything, it’s to be forever grateful I married a surf, not soccer, enthusiast.
Back to the 43-year-old former surfer pro on stage, and he is all about music with a message.
This world tour is to spread the word about his seventh studio album, All The Light Above It Too, released last September.
Johnson gets a huge reaction from the crowd, thisinsouciant surf dude, tall, tanned, tight buzz cut, chilled out, singing to us about love and choices and theenvironment, a subject which is very close to his muscle-clad heart.
Jack Johnson concert, Cork city
— 𓋹Sudan HODL𓋹 (@SudanHODL) July 3, 2018
Always better when we together 😊 pic.twitter.com/caY7FIlG7z
His bio reveals that his Brushfire Records label have been leaders in the greening of the music industry and with his wife Kim, he founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation as well as the Johnson Ohana Foundation to support environmental education worldwide.
So behold, here he is, on stage at the magnificent Marquee, a magnanimous messiah bringing his message of saving the oceans and loving the earth to his adoring disciples.
Most of whom are swaying to his life-changing lyrics clutching warm, €6 beers in plastic glasses.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to phase him, the fella is so laid back he’s nearly horizontal. Tall, tanned, dressed in a soft red tee and jeans, Jack brings a little bit of his native Hawaii Leeside, with his soothing acoustics, his jaunty jangles, and his whimsical chords. And sure with the weather we’re having, we could almost believe we’re on Oahu.
It’s 12 years since Jack Johnson played in Ireland, and no matter how enjoyable his soft rock with hard lyrics is when you’re bobbing away at home, or having an ould dance around the kitchen (‘Better Together’ just happens to be our wedding song), 12 years is too long to wait for theopportunity to experience him up close and personal.
May the bubble never burst, come back soon,Jack.
“Our dreams, and they are made out of real things, Like a shoebox of photographs, With sepia-toned loving, Love is the answer.”
