Four days after going through a breakup, I found myself at a JP Saxe concert. Almost like it was meant to be, I was going to have to listen to some of the most devastating songs ever written in a crowd that conveniently consisted of a lot of couples and groups of friends, reminding me of what was not my case. Although I love JP’s music and had been excited about this show for months, I might’ve been slightly dreading the night. However, as soon as he took onto the stage, I had a feeling that maybe I wasn’t going to actively keep myself from crying for two hours after all.
JP is far goofier than I was expecting. Considering that this was JP’s (legally Jonathan Percy Starker Saxe) hometown and biggest show to date, I’m assuming there was a mix of extra pressure but also some comfiness for him and his team. This translated very well into something I deeply appreciated: he would not stop talking, or like the internet loves to call it nowadays, he would absolutely not stop yapping. And since this is exactly how I handle any situation ever, I felt so at home.
A couple of months prior to his show in Toronto, I was fortunate enough to interview JP and ask him about his career and current tour, an instance where I was the one accidentally yapping. I remember him laughing at me because I just blurted out information as soon as he picked up the phone and didn’t even let him say hello. Now, looking back, I feel like he probably understood where I was coming from.
After starting out the night with a couple of songs from his most recent album, A Grey Area, he spoke to the crowd in a manner that seemed like everybody in there was one of his close friends. On the other hand, the energy surrounding the friendship between him and his guitarist TJ Whitelaw—whom he met in 9th grade and who’s been a collaborator ever since—as well as the way it extended towards the other band members—really almost made it feel like you were watching a friend group’s band in their parents’ garage.
They love each other, not just like some artists get along with their touring musicians, but these guys really seem to be close friends, which is something very important to JP.
“The loves of my life are my music, my friends, and traveling the world. This tour is literally all three of those things in one. I get to travel the world with my friends, I get to make friends all over the world” he said speaking of this tour, adding: “I feel extraordinarily grateful that this is my job and I take very seriously making this show the most entertaining, honest, cathartic, experience I possibly can.”
This idea of him being friends with his fans also became very realistic and likely once you saw him interacting with the audience. During his song “For Emilee” in particular, he talked to some of the attendees that could relate to the track about staying in a bad relationship even though you’re aware you could do better. JP’s talent and vocal ability really shined a little later on, as he performed “Anywhere,” a song that I believe shows his range and ability to transmit emotion like no other in his discography. If you have attachment issues like me, it’s also the kind of song that you kind of wish was written for you, because it acknowledges the impending doom of people leaving you.
About his songwriting process, JP and I discussed his collaborations with Latin American artists like Camilo and Carla Morrison, a fact that we bonded over since I am originally from that side of the world, too.
“Songwriting is the process of trying to bottle up an element of the human experience into something you get to listen to, and languages as a tool, give a certain framework of how we can get that feeling into a song. It expands the possibility of what a lyric can represent.”
He also told me about how he’s started to learn Spanish and how that’s expanded the way he understands the process of simulating emotion with art: “because languages have subtle differences and what even the words for feelings mean. The words for love in Spanish feel different than the words for love in English, and that is so relevant to the way one love song can feel so different from another love song.”
Another highlight of the night for me was the way all the musicians switched instruments for the performance of “Fear & Intuition,” and how JP compared to a high school band feeling cool while doing so. During the same song, fans put little colorful stars that read “Don’t Change” over their phone flashlights, referencing the lyric “L.A. told me to listen to myself, Toronto said not to change, New York told me to fuck somebody else.”
Halfway through the show, JP decided to introduce a new, unreleased song titled “Okay Anyway.” While discussing the origin of the song, he said it hopefully would allow him to introduce himself as “something other than an ex boyfriend,” which has been the main topic of his past projects, and was written with his fifteen-year-old self in mind. Back in January, when speaking about new goals and directions, he said: “I really love getting to make art that represents new versions of what it feels to be myself. The art that I made as a 21-year-old is different than the one I made at 26-years-old, different than the one I made at 29-years-old.” He also mentioned that another goal of his this year is to be able to touch his toes, but I don’t know if we’ll get an update on that any time soon.
“This one’s for Pimples and Chunks,” JP said nearing the end of the night, talking about what he and TJ were telling each other backstage, before the show, reminiscing on a time where JP was covered in pimples and TJ was a chunky preteen. It’s a silly quote that made the crowd laugh, but it was a good reminder of the fact that the artist you see taking over big stages around the world today, was once also just a boy with a dream, and in a way he still is.
JP’s entire demeanor and presence was so nice to watch, as he grew more and more comfortable with himself throughout the evening. Not only was it a night where he was able to share his art and music he’s worked so hard on for years, but I think this tour has allowed his fans and casual listeners to learn more about his essence and the places where these lyrics and songs come from. As the show came to an end and the crowd thanked him with cheers and shouts, he actually said “I’m speechless.” Mind you, he had not stopped one single thought from coming out of his mouth for two hours and continued to do so after saying it. It was truly amazing to witness.
“I struggle to differentiate between internal and external dialogue,” he had admitted earlier during the night, and I don’t think we had understood quite yet how serious he was being. This transparency and sort of vulnerability is what made everything even more perfect though, and I wish I could see it happen more often.
JP seems to hold an invigorating energy that you want to be around, from the way he performs, to the way he addresses the crowd, and the way he talks about his team. He’s one of those artists that don’t feel quite Hollywood. Maybe it’s because he’s Canadian, or maybe he’s just a truly down-to-earth guy, and that inevitably makes me and so many people want to root for him. Oh! And as if we needed any more reasons to do so, he left the stage as Lizzie McGuire’s pop anthem “What Dreams Are Made Of,” so we have no choice but to stan.
JP’s North American dates continue through the end of March before hitting Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Amazing