Maxwell’s
Hoboken, NJ, 14 March 2001
Review by Kevin Toledo
I was fortunate to catch Jim Carroll’s performance at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ, on 3/10. The standing room only crowd (apparently that’s the policy at Maxwell’s) was eager to hear some of Jim’s works.
He arrived about 8:30pm, walking through the crowd and up on stage. He began by spraying his throat with an herbal remedy, explaining how this bottle was purchased by a woman in Seattle when he was there during the Bumbershoot Festival. He commented this stuff costs $62 for a tiny bottle and the only ingredient he can recognize was echinacea.
Jim was in a great mood this night, joking with us all and even treating us to a few excerpts from the novel he is currently working on, some of which he had just finished that very afternoon.
He joked that he was “clean” and he proved this statement by telling us he had one and a half margaritas before the show and was feeling drunk.
After reading these excerpts, he asked if we wanted some “oldies but goodies” and proceeded to read A DAY AT THE RACES. He then went on to read a few pieces from VOID OF COURSE. Someone up front requested he perform some music and Jim replied, “no music, do you see a band up here? do you think I have a Les Paul in my pants or something?” and then made a comment that “music is bad.” We all laughed.
He spoke for about an hour, then a voice came over some intercom telling him he had only 5 minutes left. Bummer, I thought. But here was the treat of the evening: he told us that since he had only a few minutes left, he would sing a song for us, “the only song he can still remember the lyrics to” as he put it. He then treated us all to an awesome rendition of I WANT THE ANGEL. Jim was fabulous, walking back and forth across the tiny stage while singing the lyrics; he was so into it–as passionate about singing it as we were about hearing it.
All in all Jim was great. After the show he signed my copy of BOOK OF NODS and promised he’d be back to get a few more autographs done but said he had to go downstairs first.
Maxwell’s turned out to be a great place to see Jim–definitely intimate–but I still prefer seeing him at The Bottom Line. I’m looking forward to the next show. He’s the best.