These dozen enjoyable songs composed by Lipton with his band members Eben Levy (guitar), Ian M. Riggs (bass) and Vito Dieterle (saxophone) embrace different styles including jazz, techno and country. The orchestra handsomely underscores the salty-voiced Lipton -- who sounds a bit like Tom Waits and resembles a downtown Sonny Bono -- as he ruefully talks through his everyman kind of dilemma.

Director Leigh Silverman and lighting designer Ben Stanton provide nice nuances in mood for the show, which is the first in the New York Voices series commissioned by Joe’s Pub. Lipton’s smoky vocals and funny, thoughtful insights on middle-class joblessness make “No Place to Go” someplace smart to visit.

“No Place to Go” continues through April 8 at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., New York. Call (212) 967-7555 or visit www.publictheater.org.

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