Getting this all started has proven more difficult than imagined, so here comes my third post in ten days:
Last Thursday I caught Jonathan Richman at Pearl Street's clubroom in Northampton, which was very interesting to say the least for I'd never seen him perform. Hilton Valentine from The Animals opened, and he sure knew how to rock fierce. He went on with just him, a bass, and a drummer (w/ single snare) and essentially killed it. I was unfamiliar with his set, but everything seemed like a traditional rock n roll arrangement countrified and twangy. The audience, respectfully seated on the floor, got a kick out of the old jams, accurately reflecting their collective aging visage. Richman eventually came to life onstage, nailing everything I had read about his live show without fail. He strutted to the mic in Chinese slippers, glassy-eyed and seemingly petrified, with his acoustic in hand. He accurately resembled a young boy on big stage, eyes wide and begging a strange question: Is there something wrong with this guy or is he putting on a front? It's very possible that Richman never progressed past the age of twelve, his Massachusetts sneer jumbled to an immature mumble. His eyes pouted as he emoted, nimbly plucking his guitar strings in between breaking away from the music for a few silly dance steps by his lonesome or waltzes with his instrument. His accompanier Tommy Larkins rattled away at his drum kit, occasionally prodded by Richman to break into an impromptu, half-hearted solo. The other possibility is that Richman knows how to act very well and wants the audience to respond in a nostalgic way, remembering back when they were teenagers strolling to the beach to party. He ran through a bunch of songs, most of which I'm unfamiliar with, but some standouts from the new record included "No One Was Like Vermeer" (which got a few laughs) and the title track "Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild." He encored with a song he played already, a ode to hating cellphones during which he divided the audience in two to sing the chorus "You can have a cellphone if you want..... but not me." For a man whose clearly stuck in the past, the show was very entertaining and quirky and I'd easily recommend seeing him before he goes completely loopy.
Bad News: The Dungen/Headdress/Marissa Nadler show at Pearl Street this upcoming Sunday has been cancelled for unknown reasons. Dungen's show a couple years ago at the same venue was decent, but probably overshadowed by openers Witch, with local J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr on drums. I'd have liked to check Nadler, but it'll have to wait for another day. The new Dungen record 4 is certainly worth a listen or two, but a warning: it's not much different from anything else they've done to date.
Other sort of bad news: I can't check out Deerhoof/Experimental Dental School at Pearl Street tonite but that's due to Sesame Street Bandaids (mine and Barry's radioshow) tonite 10pm-12am, so listen if yer not at the show at 91.1fm in the valley or stream from wmua.org for locations otherwise.
Good News: Hercules & Love Affair Wednesday at the Middle East downstairs was fairly bumpin - at least it got my mind off how freezing it was outside. Their second Boston appearance saw them yet again playing the jams from Hercules & Love Affair (DFA) like "Athene," "Blind," "You Belong," and the "Hercules Theme" encore, but perhaps without the same vigor as when they opened for Gnarls Barkley at the Wilbur Theatre August 6th. They played some new stuff too, which was solid, though nagging fears persist: they're most likely a one-trick pony. I mean, it's funky, it's on DFA, it's got Antony's vocal all over the record, but there's something fishy lurking behind the grooves: monotony. Even so, I'll dance til it's tired.
U.K. Subs
Mogwai
Mt Eerie
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