I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2019] Jenny Lewis

I somehow missed Rilo Kiley from the get go.  It’s not that I didn’t like them, i didn’t know them.  I may have heard a song or two, but otherwise nothing.

Same with Jenny Lewis solo.  I know a lot of people love her, but I just missed her completely.  I’ve heard a few of her songs from her last album and I rather liked them.  So I was pleased enough that she was opening for Death Cab for Cutie.

Obviously I had no idea that they had a connection to her.  (From the same region, on the same label, she sang on Ben Gibbard’s side project).  So this was a nice tour for them.

We arrived at Starland Ballroom to find a line wrapping around the parking lot.  So although we were early, we didn’t get into the building until about 5 minutes before she went on (and it wasn’t even sold out!).  It was packed though and trying to find a spot in the center was impossible.  So we wound up standing on the elevated platform off to the right.  Not the best location, but honestly if we were on the floor, it would have been really crowded and really hard to see.

Jenny Lewis came out on stage to the walk on music of “867-5309 (Jenny)” which was fun.  She sat at the piano and started singing “Heads Gonna Roll.”  She stayed at the piano for “Wasted Youth” is probably my favorite songs that shes done.  I heard it first that night and I loved it and I love it more with each listen.

Then she moved out from behind the piano to sing a Rilo Kiley song which I didn’t know (although it is apparently their most popular song).  She followed it with “Happy”
a song she did with the Watson Twins.

And it was sometime around here that I realized that Jenny Lewis’ solo career is quite different from her indie pop days with Rilo Kiley.  She’s got a whole torch song thing going on.  With that hair and in the outfit that she was wearing (compete with cape) she could easily have been a pop-country singer (especially with the song “Happy” and the follow up “The Voyager”).  This middle section was my least favorite of the night as was just a little outside of what I wanted to hear.  Evidently Rilo Kiley started out with a country sound, so I guess it’s full circle.

The following song “Do Si Do” was a little more enjoyable because she had a light-up tambourine, but it was still a little too slow for my full enjoyment.  It was during these songs that I got to appreciate her band.  Her guitarist was very good as were her bassist (with nice high harmonies) and second guitarist next to him.

She played three songs from 2014’s The Voyager, including “She’s Not Me.”

But it was when she played the pairing of the new single “Red Bull & Hennessy” (super catchy) and Voyager’s “Just One of the Guys” that the room really lit up for her.

Speaking of lit up, this show was so darkly lit, it was really frustrating.  The first two songs she was bathed in a dark purple light that obscured everything and took any fun and joy out of her show.  It can;t have been her choice as there were a few times when the lights went out entirely or got really bright.  It was really disappointing because much of her music is so vibrant.

I was pleased that they put on soft white lights for “Little White Dove” and the final song “On the Line.”

I didn’t know much of what she played, but I did enjoy the songs I knew.  And the crowd seemed to be quite into her.

1. Heads Gonna Roll ⊆
2. Wasted Youth ⊆
3. Silver Lining ®
4. Happy ϖ
5. The Voyager ∇
6. Do Si Do ⊆
7. She’s Not Me ∇
8. Red Bull & Hennessy ⊆
9. Just One of the Guys ∇
10. Little White Dove ⊆
11. On the Line ⊆

⊆ On the Line (2019)
∇ The Voyager (2014)
® RILO KILEY-Under the Blacklight (2007)
ϖ Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins (2006)