By Greg Waagner
[My apologies to Greg and Justin - this review was written in July, but languished in my inbox until now - Ed.]
Summertime on Cape Cod brings all manner of interesting and
talented folks to Provincetown. This
was most certainly the case when the Crown and Anchor Cabaret welcomed
singer-songwriter Justin Utley to its glittery stage for a one-night engagement
earlier this month.
Nominated by the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts for four
2010 OUTMusic Awards, including song and artist of the year (and winner for Best Folk/Country Song of the
Year for the anthemic Stand for
Something), Justin began his career as a Mormon contemporary singer/songwriter,
garnering plenty of local praise as well as being a featured performer at
the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in
2002. After coming out – and then
enduring two years of the Mormon church’s conversion therapy – Justin wrote a
self-excommunication letter and broke ties with his Mormon past, which is
pretty much the history that inspired his award-winning song.
This reviewer is of a generation which remembers a time when
performers were rarely out and almost never sang songs that were overtly about
any gay experience. This is happily no
longer the case, but let’s not rush to apply labels. While it’s cool for the LGBT community to
embrace someone with the descriptor of “gay” singer/songwriter, that’s
potentially limiting for an artist whose music clearly has appeal not only to his gay brothers and
sisters, but to all music-lovers and fans of the human experience.
So, what about Justin?
His show was just terrific, with music and memoir woven together
effortlessly. While already a fan of
his music, I’ll admit wondering beforehand what introducing memoir about his
experiences of growing up Mormon and being put through Ex-Gay therapy would do
to the evening. After all, it seems not
to be the most uplifting of tales. Justin’s
stories of surviving the experience most certainly are uplifting, however, and through the prism of his bright spirit
are both rendered both fascinating and entertaining.
As Justin talks, it
is clear it is that spirit (and the
support of a few strong and intelligent women in his family) that helped
him become this sincere, friendly and happy guy on the other side of that
journey. He admits having been the Boy
Scout suspicious New Yorkers accused him of being when – “just off the boat
from Utah” – he would hold doors and say “hello” to people and also to being
caught off guard by the fact that “pot cookies” weren’t named for being a
stovetop creation.
Such innocence might lead you to think Justin wouldn’t be
much of a rocker, but he’ll prove you wrong from the first notes of tunes like My Great Escape and Nothing This Real (both about escaping the gravitational pull of Salt
Lake City’s Mormons to explore the rest of the world). This guy can bring it, his voice ringing
through the room and bringing to life his story-driven lyrics, whether he’s
rocking out or letting his voice soar, ballad-style.
Although happy and partnered now (Sorry boys, Facebook says!), Justin has penned his share of
break-up songs. They’re a musical
staple, after all, and isn’t it always pain that inspires creation? State
of Loneliness came of a relationship
thwarted by another’s struggles with substance abuse and is full of the pain
and frustrated heartache born of that struggle
(“…I’ll tell you how I feel and
never live it down…” ). After the
show, Justin worried to us about whether it was a moment that brought the
audience down, but that’s not the case at all, as he’s taken that painful
situation and turned it into something beautiful – a song that perhaps can
bring new light for others who’ve been in similar situations.
It Is What It Is
is a different kind of break-up song, though:
an empowering riff about cutting one’s losses and saying “so long” to a
self-absorbed hot mess. Utley says it’s
the fiddle in the studio recording of this one that got him the Country-Western
label, and after it’s release, he found himself shopping for boots and flannel
to fit the profile when he was to perform at Utah Pride. There’s also a country sound to Guided Back to You, which is sort of a
break-up song, but one with hope that - in this case - the break-up is only
temporary ( “…just check your feet’s
direction on this map that’s made for two, and if I’m ever lucky, I’ll be
guided back to you…”).
Goodbye Goodbye is
another one that falls into the category of Empowering Break-up Song, but this
one carries a slightly different weight, since it comes from an earlier time in
Justin’s story. This one, he tells us,
is about a girl he dated as part of his Ex-Gay Therapy homework
assignment. It seemed to be going well,
but when he found out on Christmas that he was just one of a number of guys she
was dating, he learned a lesson about “not making someone a priority who
considers us only an option.”
For the show, Justin alternated back and forth between
performing solo on stage, with just a guitar, or with the addition of
pre-recorded band tracks behind him for a fuller sound (One imagines how much fun it would be to hear Justin perform with a live
band in a stadium setting, perhaps at one of the Pride events he’s becoming so
popular for.) But then Justin crossed over to the piano for a few numbers,
wowing us with a fresh and wonderful arrangement of a piano/vocal cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, which
couldn’t have sounded less like the Tears for Fears original.
Then, as if to answer the desire for other backing
musicians, Justin welcomed his bassist friend, Ricardo Rodriguez, to the stage
for a performance of Utley’s latest single, Moment
For Me and then – far too quickly – the evening was coming to a close with
Justin’s award-winning Stand For
Something, bring the audience to their feet.
During the course of the evening, Justin’s vocal range and
song constructions carried for this reviewer echoes of Jonathan Larsen and RENT (Justin would be a great Roger, IMHO). After the show, I mentioned this and pointed
out how his songs all come from such interesting stories and experiences and
asked if he’d ever considered creating a musical to showcase those songs. He hadn’t, as it turns out, but was gracious
enough to respond like it was the best idea ever, even if he didn’t agree.
So, pay attention, music and theatre fans. It’s true Broadway may already have The Book of Mormon, but The Book of Justin
is just a few chapters in and anything’s possible. Keep your eyes peeled for performance
notices in your area (and find him on
Facebook), so you don’t miss an opportunity to hear this terrific artist
when he comes to your town.
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