Graham Parker and the Rumour in Downtown Newton, NJ, December 7, 2012

Graham Parker and the Rumour at the Newton Theater, December 7, 2012 (photo: Aaron Orel)

The Newton Theater is a 605 seat theater in the small town of Newton, New Jersey. That's up in the northwest corner of the state, and I expect that even people who grew up in New Jersey -- like me -- generally have no idea where it is. The theater was built in the 1920s and has gone in and out of operation, most recently re-opening as a concert venue in late 2011.

Last night Graham Parker and the Original Rumour appeared at the completely sold-out theater, playing a non-nonsense mix of songs originally recorded with The Rumour, post-Rumour songs, as well as most of Parker's newest album, Three Chords Good. Parker certainly knew where he was: as I heard one amused fan saying it on a bathroom run just prior to the show starting, "we're in bumblefuck New Jersey!" But if Parker is, as my brother described, "the best rocker no one's heard of," the Newton Theater might be the prettiest little theater (with a wonderful no-frills pizza joint right next door) in the nicest looking little town that no one's ever seen.

Parker and the band took the stage as Bruce Springsteen's version of Jersey Girl played, and quickly launched in to Fools' Gold, from the 1976 album Heat Treatment. Parker easily integrated his new material in to the show, eventually performing 7 of its 12 tracks. Early on in this mix, Parker said it was time to get the "controversial" song out of the way, referring to the politically charged Coathangers.  Another highlight among the new songs was Old Soul; Parker called it his favorite among the new songs.

The setlist included Watch The Moon Come Down, which will be included in the upcoming Judd Apatow movie This is 40. Noting that the movie is to be released on December 21st, the same day as the supposed Mayan end of the world, Parker advised the audience to see a matinee on the day of release.

Don't Ask Me Questions

Unlike other concerts I've seen with band members changing out instruments between nearly every song, there were no guitar techs in sight last night. Parker -- dressed in a button down shirt and with shades that would have gone well in 1979 -- had two guitars: an acoustic and an electric. The other band members stayed on their basic instruments the full evening. Martin Belmont and Brinsley Schwarz traded off on the guitar solos, each adding their own distinctive sound to the mix. Last night's set also included the tour debut of the title track from Howlin Wind, a crisp performance the segued seamlessly in to the new song Live in the Shadows.

Throughout the show, Parker repeatedly referenced his location ("downtown Newton") and his history with New Jersey, and this inevitably led to mock-horrified remembrances of other bands that sold more records than The Rumour (Christopher Cross ended up on the wrong end of one particularly biting reference). He had nicer things to say about New Jersey natives The Smithereens. The audience ate it up.

After the show, Martin Belmont remarked that playing and recording together again was "easy," and that many of the new album performances were first takes. Hopefully, more people in easier-to-find places will be able to discover this for themselves.

(note: the first edit of this post misidentified the song used in "This is 40." I have corrected it.)