PAUL NOWLES "Fun Is His Middle Name"

by jenny heying

I’m not normally in for a rocking time on Saturday mornings, but what they hey, I’ll try anything once. Strolling over to Crystal Gardens for a Paul Nowles show, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I needed have worried. Paul was in a giddy mood and his opening warm up song was a stellar rendition of “Walking In Memphis”. It’s a great song that I’ve heard a lot and for some reason never tire of. It’s also a great opening number and really set the mood for Paul’s set. He followed that with “Whiter Shade Of Pale” and believe me for first thing Saturday morning, his voice was in fine shape.

His voice is slightly raspy, but that’s attractive to me, especially for rock songs, but when he had to hit the high notes, he was right on. No fuss no muss. He handled songs with ease, keeping his voice clear, loud enough and hitting every note. On mellow songs, his voice softened only slightly but made the song that much more original.


Paul seems like a fun loving guy, maybe partly due to the early morning hours, but no so much. He talks and talks, but it’s enjoyable and he has fun with it. His avatar moves around the stage and even off it then on again give you a little visual show to go with the vocals. He wants his crowd to be a part of his show and he ensures they are. I think he might enjoy performing more than we enjoy watching but I’m not quite sure.

“Desperado” was done with Paul’s voice in perfect pitch. The slower songs at this point were an awesome showcase for it. That led to “When September Ends” and although Paul claimed it wasn’t his best, it was definitely more than adequate and I don’t think anyone wasn’t impressed.

Between songs, Paul is all over the place. As I said he likes to chat and takes every opportunity to do so with his audience. He also roams and roams, hugging, dancing and just about anything else he can think of making full use of the venue’s stage and dance floor.

Crystal Garden’s owner Sandi Benelli and her staff do a great job making sure the crowd has a great time but with Paul, he kind of does that on his own. Half the time I’m not sure what he was going on about, but that’s okay, I pretended to. He reads the chat and is always up on what’s being said around him or about him.

Paul continued with “We Just Disagree” and “It’s Not Easy Being Me” letting our ears take in his wonderful sound with his backing tracks blending nicely behind his voice. His tracks (speak ipod speak) fit well with his set list. They were unobtrusive and gave enough accompaniments to allow his voice to headline the show.

He’s a hard fellow to follow, be prepared to keep turning and moving your camera to stay up with him, but that’s so refreshing from some shows where you can set your view and never move.

The time flew as there is so much happening and to pay attention to at a Paul Nowles show. It’s hard to keep track of everything but I did with the songs. Forging ahead with “You Want To Make A Memory” and then into an original song “Won’t You Stay”. His talents never cease. He closed his set with “Walk Away” and “True Companion” leaving us all to frantically search his schedule for more show times.

He’s a wonderful singer and an amazing entertainer. If fun isn’t on your agenda, it should be and just jot down Paul Nowles for clarification. I bet he is wonderful to see at any time of the day, but he was a perfect cure for a listless Saturday morning.