Sunday - May 29th, 2005
The Zepp, Osaka, Japan

“Where’d all the good people go?” crooned a gentle Jack Johnson before a sold out crowd at Osaka’s famed Zepp Auditorium. Since the release of his newest album, In Between Dreams, Johnson’s popularity in Japan has been on the upswing, with no signs of falling anytime soon. Hours before the show began, hordes of flip-flop wearing fans congregated outside the Zepp’s entrance in order to secure a front stage position. Floor tickets being general admission, it was first come, first serve; and it didn’t take long before the floor was at full capacity, leaving barely enough room to breathe.

The show opened with the bluesy-freestylings of Philadelphia native G.Love and his band of talented musicians, Special Sauce. Sitting on a stool at the start of his set, Love played an array of tracks from his most recent album, The Hustle. Songs like “The Hustle,” and “Fishing Song,” kept the audience grooving; but it was his spirited rendition of the ode to a one night stand, “Booty Call,” that got everyone dancing. Love’s invigorating performance served as the perfect lead-in to Johnson’s breezy melodies.

After Johnson took center stage, he opened his set with In Between Dreams’ second track; the amicable “Never Know.” Playing in a green shirt and jeans, Johnson resembled that mellow camp counselor who always got the ladies’ attention. As he wooed the audience with his serene sound, a chilled mood enveloped the evening. Although Johnson was not as animated as Love, his music carried a positive vibration that kept the audience interested. Though Johnson’s energetic numbers initiated cheers, it was his tranquil ones that carried a natural mystic, reminiscent of storytelling while roasting marshmallows beside a campfire. Although the show was in an auditorium, lethargic songs like “Wasting Time,” (off 2002’s On and On), and “F-Stop Blues” (off 2003’s The September Sessions Soundtrack), transported the crowd to an open-air arena with a beautiful pink sunset just beyond the horizon. Late in his set, Johnson took time to pay respect to the late Bradley Nowell, as he ended On and On’s “The horizon has been defeated” with a cover of Sublime’s classic, “Badfish.”

During breaks between songs, soft-spoken Johnson demonstrated his Japanese skills as he communicated with the audience, to everyone’s amazement, in perfect “Osaka-ben” (Osaka dialect). Before the final encore of the evening, Love returned to the stage to join Johnson on a couple songs, including their original collaboration, “Rodeo Clowns (from Love’s buoyant 1999 album, Philadelphonic). But it was their cover of Madonna’s first hit single, “Holiday,” that generated the spirit of summer and brought the evening to its climax.

The final encore of the evening presented Jack Johnson at his most vulnerable, as he played the last few songs solo with an acoustic guitar. It was during these intimate moments that Johnson’s true essence took on a three dimensional from, enrapturing the hearts of every person in the audience. His sound carried an undeniable beauty that transcended modern language, and was entirely understood through sound. Modern poetry never took on a sweeter form as Johnson closed the evening with an chanting version of In Between Dreams’ romantic opener, “Better Together.”

Johnson’s laid-back lyrics combined with a Jimmy Buffet-esqe sound, continues to add zest to the hearts of millions around the world. Not only does Johnson spread his message of love and peace through his music, but he also helps raise environmental awareness by touring North America in vehicles that run on biodiesel fuel and setting up recycling stations at every venue he visits. If Johnson really wonders where “all the good people” have gone, he should take a look in the mirror, because he will find one staring right back at him.