Anybody out there roll their eyes when you hear a music fan say a musical performer is better live than on CD? I did and still do when I hear people say that, as very few artists are truly that good in concert in my experience, then I heard Pete Yorn's Live In New Jersey; and my eyes stopped rolling.

Coming on the heals of Yorn's forgettable second record Day I Forgot, Live In New Jersey is an entertaining showcase of this singer-songwriters folk rock appeal. The first highlight of the album, Pass Me By from Day I Forgot, indicates the level of live performer Yorn is as instead of starting out with songs from his more lauded debut effort Musicforthemorningafter, Pass Me By is unleashed into a dazzling rollicking rocker that Yorn didn't quite get right in his original studio recording of the song. Hearing Pass Me By immediately throws the rest of the concert up in the air as all of a sudden a previous PY dud seems to have a few shots of sparkle thrown into it.

From that unexpected starting point, the set on Live In New Jersey reveals an awareness by Yorn of what songs truly excite his audience. Come Back Home, the first single off Day I Forgot, seems to have been in fact forgotten by Yorn, as it's not on Live In New Jersey (It was also not played at the two Pete Yorn concerts I have since attended) showing an artist comfortable enough to listen to his audience. Meanwhile the set-list makes room for album cuts such as Long Way Down, Closet and All At Once with more songs coming from Yorn's first record. Also a few spirited covers are added to keep the proceedings moving.

A reason for the CD's quality comes in Yorn's introduction to the previously unreleased Bandstand In The Sky, a song written in response to the passing of Jeff Buckley. Instead of being a downer, a good time version of the song is rolled out that Yorn refreshingly acknowledges to his audience is slightly changed so to be better live. Such audience awareness differentiates Yorn as instead of being an overly serious singer-songwriter, his embrace of being a live performer lifts his live experience into that rare meeting of great craft with great showmanship.

Even the slower song June has an audience clap along heard revealing Yorn to be continually committed to engaging the crowd. This showmanship turns Live In New Jersey into perhaps Pete Yorn's best current CD showcasing a consistent set-list from an emerging talent with songs that often do sound better live than their original studio versions. Excuse me while I stop my eyes from rolling, it's a knee-jerk reaction.