As Robert Francis’s headlining set was coming to an end last night, I leaned over to Kirk and said, “I’d like Pete Yorn a lot more if he sounded like this.” Kirk’s response was an instant Tweet classic, “Pete Yorn is a poor man’s Robert Francis.”
The LA-based singer channels some of the last 3 decades best singers – you can hear bits of Bono, Springsteen, Jeff Buckley, Ryan Adams in his delivery – and while he maintains a moderately moody and subdued Americana sound, if you go into a live Francis performance knowing that the Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante taught Francis to play guitar at the age of 16, you’ll hear that influence as well.
At an hour and fifteen minutes, the set seemed a little short (no encore – the “hits” were played relatively early on) though it’s better to leave the crowd wanting more than overstaying your welcome. Dozens of people hung out after the show waiting to meet Francis and you get the feeling that if he plays his cards right (or, rather, if his management makes wise decisions), this will be one of those shows that you brag to your friends about seeing 10 years down the road (“I saw him at this small club way before he was headlining much bigger stages.”)
Catch Francis this September and October as the support act on the follow Jason Mraz tour dates.
SEPTEMBER
11 Bangor, ME Bangor Waterfront
13 Utica, NY Stanley Performing Arts Center
15 Buffalo, NY SUNY Buffalo – Baird Point Amphitheater
16 Ypsilanti, MI EMU Convocation Center
20 Charleston, WV Clay Center For The Arts & Sciences
21 Greenville, SC Peace Center
22 Charleston, SC Carolina First Arena
28 Newark, DE Bob Carpenter Center
29 Columbus, OH The LC Outdoor Pavilion
30 Interlochen, MI Kresge Auditorium
OCTOBER
4 London, ONT John Labatt Center
5 Ottawa, ONT Scotiabank Place
6 Quebec City, QUE Colisee Pepsi Arena