Yeager’s ready, even if KC isn’t

http://media.newtimes.com/id/21627/

Jon Yeager

“Safely”

That’s what I like about this guy, man, he owns it! You know, it’s pop, man. But this dude can sing, and he just owns it!

Jon Yeager wants to rock you – safely.

Not these words, exactly, but words to this effect were spouted drunkenly in my ear late one Friday night at the Brick. On stage was Jon Yeager, and he was playing “Safely,” a song off his original solo demo. My drunken interlocutor was a guy who plays bass in various rock bands and one jazz outfit — not the sort who would typically dig Yeager’s brand of gentle, reassuring, sincere singer-songwriter pop, all full of Beatles chords, carefully crafted melodies and falcetto coos. Not too many folks on the scene are fans of that kind of music, either, which makes Jon’s local success not only rare but a bit of a puzzle. Since the disbanding of his previous group, the Daybirds, Yeager has recorded two or three solo EPs, become the flagship artist of a startup local label called Polyrhythmic Records, picked up a backing band (a bassist and drummer from Arkansas) and made his rounds on the Midtown club circuit. He’s certainly productive, but is Kansas City into his sound?

Despite his confidence, consistency and good stage presence, Jon Yeager may be too soft for the town’s rock-hungry bar crowds. In a way, it’s unfair, but when it comes to playing for the drunk-and-disorderly scenester majority, it’s a matter of survival of the loudest. However, I’ve noticed at a couple of Jon’s shows, when it comes time for him to set down his guitar, sit at his Fender Rhodes and launch into the exquisitely melancholy “Safely,” people quiet down and take notice. That’s because it’s a textbook-perfect pop ballad. The song decides for you precisely how you’re going to feel and how your body’s going to move: (1) you’ll feel content with a tinge of bittersweet longing and (2) you’ll start either bobbing your head or tapping a heel on the 2 and the 4. Then, when the song’s over, whether you grab a seat closer to the stage or return to your conversation at the bar, you’re going to feel better, and that’s what matters.

Yeager has recently posted four brand-new tunes on the Myspace page for Polyrhythmic . You can — and should — download them all for away-from-the-computer listening.