When Joseph Arthur told me recently that “something was happening” with his new touring band, he wasn’t kidding. Arthur and the band made their New York debut last night at Bowery Ballroom, playing Arthur’s new album “Nuclear Daydream” (Lonely Astronaut) in its entirety, giving the already-impressive album a big boost of energy.
Freed from trying to recreate complex songs by himself, Arthur seemed to grow into the role of rock-band frontman, channeling a bit of Mick Jagger in songs like “Woman” and David Bowie in a new song “Spacemen,” inspired by a recent trip to Africa.
For his most famous song “In the Sun,” Arthur was joined by Michael Stipe, who covered the song earlier this year as a fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The voices of Stipe and Arthur fit together well, with Stipe’s lower register grounding the song and Arthur’s falsetto turning it skyward.
SETLIST: Too Much to Hide / Black Lexus / Enough to Get Away / Slide Away / Electrical Storm / Automatic Situation / You Are Free / When I Was Running Out of Time / Don’t Tell Your Eyes / Don’t Give Up on People / Woman / Nuclear Daydream // ENCORES: Spacemen / In the Sun (w/Michael Stipe) / Tattoo / Honey and the Moon