Joseph Arthur live at the Dakota Tavern


Its a rude Wednesday, rainy, kinda humid. Perfect for a stormy day, we attended this gig by Joseph Arthur at the Dakota Tavern. A watering hole for music aficionados and the world weary, it embraces everyone with beer and live tunes.

Our reviewers infiltrated, incognito to soak up the sounds and get close without causing too much of a ruckus. Joseph made us stand through his gig, swaying along to his melodic voice. Almost spoken word, his songs are consistently good for either a quiet night in or a hipster beach party. Know any album that you can play without skipping a track? His new offering, The Graduation Ceremony is just that sort. No running to the skip button in the middle of a meal.

There is a lot of feeling in his voice and we love his riffs. An irregular beat synonymous with his art [Yes people, he is an acclaimed contemporary artist] the lack of symmetry in his songs that go on without a second chorus, lifts the listener to a high point. You don't come down until the record ends. "This is still my world" is our favourite track from his album The Graduation Ceremony and we've already hit replay about 5 times. Check out his music video here.