Review: Pi Jacobs 'Live From Memphis'

Pi Jacobs

By Mike O’Cull

Americana singer-songwriter Pi Jacobs brings her fans a different kind of live album experience on her new record Live From Memphis. The set drops August 13th, 2021 on Blackbird Record Label and features Pi and her band performing eight of her songs for a Ditty TV taping with no audience. Each tune also gets a spoken-word introduction from Jacobs that gives listeners a great deal of insight into the songs and Pi, herself. These pre-song segments give listeners a heartfelt and often amusing commentary on her early years, her family, and the lessons she has learned on the road of life. Jacobs recounts tales of finding her absentee father in Alaska, paying her dues as a struggling artist in New York City, the impact of the #MeToo movement, and growing up poor in an open and vulnerable way that connects deeply.

Pi Jacobs is a California-born talent who grew up around hippies in the Bay Area. Raised by a single mom, Jacobs spent her earliest years within two miles of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and was surrounded by storytelling, theater, and music. She began playing guitar at age 11 but also plays bass and has studied jazz and vocal performance at the college level. She relocated to New York City and released the first of her nine records in 2001.

Jacobs and her husband eventually found their way back to the West Coast, settling in Los Angeles, where she found a tightly-knit community ready to support her work. Today, Jacobs is a fully-developed artist who has a better way with a song than many of her peers and is one of the most compelling creators in 21st Century American music. She has appeared on NPR, DittyTV, Austin Music TV, The Alternate Root Magazine, Americana Highways, American Songwriter Magazine, Radio Tastemakers, KCSN (LA), and WFUV (NYC), and has reached #27 on the Alt Country Chart, and #25 on the Relix-Jamband Chart.

Live From Memphis begins with the song “Broken Cup” and the story behind it, which includes Jacobs’ former rules for dating and how she met her husband. The spoken introduction is engaging and fun and she delivers it well. The track is a slow, softly-spoken number about knowing when you’ve got a good thing going and Jacobs sings it with soul and personal authenticity. She sounds amazing in front of her band and her warmth and humanity will keep you listening. “First Thing Tomorrow” is a fearlessly honest song about Jacobs’ less-than-happy reaction to the 2016 presidential election. It’s a bold song about coping with defeat with alcohol and activism. It’s one of Jacobs’ best songs to date and walks a line between country storytelling and the raw emotion of the blues. Her lyrics are supported by a sweet mid-speed groove and some tasty dobro work, as well.

The intro to “Weed And Wine” details Pi’s life as a hippie kid from the land of cannabis. It’s an interesting story that leads into a song about growing up in an alternative lifestyle-oriented community wearing homemade clothes and subsisting on simple food. Pi puts her whole self into this one and you can tell she looks back on those days fondly. “No Sin To Be Poor” is introduced by Jacobs’ memories about growing up without much money and being very different than the other kids around her. The track is a brisk and twangy affair with some blues/rock folded in for fuel. Her band absolutely cooks here and their solid live vibe gives the song the muscle its message deserves.

Live In Memphis is nothing but cool from end to end so don’t miss deep cuts like “Diana The Hunter” and “Good Things.” Pi Jacobs is always a great listening experience and this new record is no exception. She is one of the most lyrically progressive and entertaining songwriters of this era and you really should be listening.

Listen to “First Thing Tomorrow”