Johnny Rice sneers: “This is the story of the unknown blogger, he blogs and he blogs and he blogs but no one reads him.”
Funny line and he has a point. That’s not the problem. The problem is Rice’s constant snotty attitude.I saw Rice open for Rilo Kiley maybe four years ago and he was so good. With just a guitar and a handful of songs I for one had never heard before, he connected with his audience. Rice was funny, he explained his songs, told us who he was, and for a next trick got us to sing along to the convoluted chorus of “We’re All Stuck In The Desert”. There was an ease, charm and confidence in the performance and it was enough to blow yet another spotty Rilo Kiley set off the stage.
None of it has survived.
But before we get to the painfully ordinary Jenny And Johnny, Ohio youngsters Times New Viking, played a pretty good set of noisy punk which often evolved into noisy jams. And they did it without a guitarist. Sometimes it worked fine, sometimes the lack of shading in the sound worked against em. And a “you don’t have to clap” was a touch too insecure to be cute. But they mesh nice and the keyboard player is a good one.
Wild Nothings opened with their excellent “Golden Haze” and continued with a set of high quotient melody and sharp songs which sometimes become improvisations along melodic lines and progressions. It is pretty but a touch bland . The band , three country boys and a reject from Aryan nation, ignore the audience even as they tune up between songs and since there is nothing at all to really look at, the set drags along. Not bad, Wild Nothings got the songs for sure.
I wish Jenny Lewis wouldn’t talk to the audience and I more or less get my wish. The former Rilo Kiley singer, shrugs rudely when fans shout “we love you” and sincerely stupidly thanks the bands that opened for them . A comment you shouldn’t make if you can’t name em..
The set is nearly exactly what you thought it was -the album plus a newbie and an oldie. After a fine two song opening, “Convicted” and “Scissor runner” -both better than the recorded versions and especially on “Convicted”, Lewiss backup harmonies are excellent.
But after that? Blegh.
Johnny is just a nasty, arrogant piece of work and Jenny an L.A. doo-doo. “Big Wave” is OK nothing great, “Animal” is a crap version, “Carpetbaggers” -the best song off Jenny’s Acid Tongue, is pretty fun -I hadn’t noticed how Byrdsy the guitars are and Rice takes over Costello’s verses and no harm no foul. A new song has a great chorus and a crap verse.
the rest of it sucks and sinks in a diabolic bluesy jam.
Not a terrible night if but by no means a good night. Just two bland , arrogant hipsters who can’t even fill Irving Plaza.
But hey, Johhny, it doesn’t matter what I say… I’m just the unknown blogger.