Friday, January 30th marked the release of JoyRide (REVIEW), Steve Poltz’s 14th solo album. On the night before the release, Poltz hosted a celebration of this new music and life in general with a show at Portland, Oregon’s Mission Theater. Starting with the album’s last track, “Hairlift,” Poltz delivered two hours of his unique delivery to a rapt and appreciative audience.
In addition to “Hairlift,” Poltz played a number of JoyRide songs, including the title track, “Petrichor,” “Love a Little Bigger,” which he cowrote with Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman, and “The Son of God,” which tells the story of, what else, buying a set of encyclopedias from none other than Jesus H. Christ himself. Of course, the show was interspersed with Poltz’s signature stories and stream-of-consciousness musings. He also brought a couple of people to the stage just to introduce them to the crowd. This included Sawtooth Valley Gathering owner and producer James Fowler. Poltz will be playing multiple sets at the 11th annual festival this year, which takes place in June in Stanley, Idaho.
It wasn’t all new songs though. There were some gorgeous instrumental tunes, and a fun rendition of the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter “Wharf Rat,” which he claimed to have learned on the rainy drive to Portland from Seattle. Poltz played his hit collaboration with Jewel, 1996’s “You Were Meant for Me.” He also told a story as tribute to the recently departed Todd Snider during a rendition of “Rainbow Connection.”
Poltz has proven to be a great artist to see in these challenging times, as he delivers his art with a goofy joy that lights up the room and quickly spreads to those in attendance. He has a series of tour dates, continuing down the West Coast through Oregon and California before heading to Australia and New Zealand.
