Jason Bieler
September 21, 2019
Smith’s Olde Bar
Atlanta, GA
You remember Saigon Kick, don’t you? That band that had that huge hit with that song, “Love Is On the Way.” You remember, now. As great of a song that was, Saigon Kick had so many great songs that are sadly overlooked. The band put out two brilliant albums with lead vocalist Matt Kramer and then after his departure put out two great albums with guitarist/songwriter Jason Bieler taking over lead vocals. That’s an awful lot of material to be shadowed by one song.
I was extremely lucky enough to see Saigon Kick twice, once for each of their first two albums and then all of a sudden they just faded into obscurity. I was and still am a huge fan of the band so not getting to see them live again was heartbreak. The band has since made a few reunion appearances, but none were near me. It was announced that Jason Bieler was doing a series of solo acoustic shows but unfortunately, the last few times he was in Atlanta I couldn’t make it. You can imagine my excitement when he announced another Atlanta appearance that I was finally able to attend.
I was a little nervous about this show. Saigon Kick songs are pretty damn sacred to me, and I was a bit worried about how they would translate in an acoustic setting. Jason took the stage to a modest but extremely vocal and appreciative audience kicking things off with “Hostile Youth” from The Lizard album. I was blown away not just by how great the song came across but how amazingly Bieler pulled it off like it was always written that way.
Jason’s set was full of obscure Saigon Kick fan favorites such as “The Lizard,” “Coming Home,” and “Russian Girl” as well as some really fun covers like “Dear Prudence” by the Beatles, “Chocolate Jesus” by Tom Waits, and “Mexican Radio” by Wall of Voodoo. I was shocked to hear what Jason was able to do with The Hooters’ “All You Zombies” and even got a sing-a-long with Katy Perry’s “Firework.”
In addition to a great selection of songs, Jason was so interactive with the audience. He was conversing with everyone, making us all laugh and making us laugh. After a beautiful rendition of “All I Want” Jason stated that he was a liar because he had never climbed the Himalayans or danced in a ballroom. Jason had this way of making me feel like I was the only person in the audience which isn’t an easy feat to do for most artists. Throughout his set, I was so fixated on Jason’s performance that I failed to even notice all the people to the side and behind me.
Towards the end of his set, Jason brought out “Come Take Me Now,” which brought me to tears. That is a song that I played right after my father passed away in 2012 so it tugged at my heartstrings. Seeing Jason play songs such as this one, “Colors,” and “Water” showed Jason’s ability to be a dynamic performer both touchingly serious and hysterically light-hearted.
Before Jason went into “My Life,” he asked the audience if anyone had a kazoo. I said aloud, “I can make kazoo noises with my hands.” He looked right at me and said, “Get up here then.” I was joined by another fan from the audience where we hilariously played a hand kazoo solo and sang harmonies with Jason. That right there was a dream come true from a long time fan. Here’s this guy who’s band’s posters adorned my wall and here I am up here doing a song with him. Jason closed out the set with a truly bizarre choice songs; “Fuck You It’s Christmas.” This song was so fucking good that it made me want to hurry home and learn how to play it right away for future shows of mine.
If Jason Bieler ever comes to your town to do a solo show, I urge you all to attend. It’s is one of the most incredible experiences you’ll ever have. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll do both at the same time (yes, this is possible). I will never forget this show, and I am already excited for the next one. It is such a gift to see and hear Jason Bieler keeping the legacy of Saigon Kick’s great music for my generation and hopefully a whole new one as well.
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