This was one of those impromptu, week night shows that I rarely make it out to anymore. I say that, but these up & comers are making it harder and harder to stay home. Jae Jin is a friend of mine. Since we last hung out, a lot has changed. Not only did he beat cancer (again. No, seriously, again. This dude is a fucking champion), but he left behind a career as a MD/MBA candidate to pursue a life of music. As someone who has seen how much those guys make, I can tell you he’s earned my respect, and that was before opened his mouth.  It’s hard to describe, but Jae has stage presence. He’s able to control an audience and kept the weeknight crowd excited and into it. We all go to shows with the “if it’s boring I’m out in the first 15min” in the back of our minds but he earned our asses in seats for hours. This guy not only had the chops needed to keep our attention, he was kind, aware & attuned to the crowd when it came to being real on the mic.
Jae switching from guitar to piano in the middle of the show was a strong move that I think solidified  just how much skill, talent & drive he has. He knocked out a bunch of tunes on the piano with his backing duo & solo, ending the show on a high note. Which he hit. Because he can. All in all, I was tremendously pleased to see just how far my man has come.  Make sure to take some time to dig and give to Jae’s PledgeMusic drive. Not only does it get this crucial album made, but it’s connected with Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology. The rest of his NYC performance dates are below. If you can make one of these, don’t sleep on it. As I said before, you want to get in on the ground floor with Jae Jin. He’s going places.

May 15 – Lovecraft – 7pm
May 26 – Rockwood Music Hall – 6pm
June 11 – The Bitter End – 8pm