Elliott Smith

taper: Brett Walker Notes: Elliott was on tour with The Softies during this period. The beloved Jabberjaw was packed that night (which didn't take much, it was a small venue with a max of probably 100-150 people), but most people there were pin-drop quiet. That was probably due in part to the type of respectful crowd The Softies tended to attract, but also because Elliott was beginning to get buzz in the indie scene after his self-titled album release the year prior. He had a rapt audience, perhaps too much for Elliott's liking, and he gave us all a short-but-searing performance as if to sweep away the silence of the small club. The references Elliott makes to videogames (Dig Dug and Joust) is because Jabberjaw had a couple of old arcade games in a side room. The audio isn't the greatest because the junky, old tape recorder's built-in mic I was using was not really designed for the audio volumes of concerts, so the levels got blown out at times. But I think the core of Elliott's performance that night still comes through.