Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom, New York City (11/1/10)
Whether you think Jonathan Richman is an untrained genius or an overrated man-child, you can’t deny that he’s entertaining. At last night’s show at Bowery Ballroom, he had the audience laughing, dancing, and occasionally ‘aww-ing’ at his painfully honest lyrics and campy dance moves. As endearing as he proved to be, he proved his chops with some fancy guitar playing, accompanied by his right-hand man, Tommy Larkin on drums. Richman started the show with one of his many songs about famous artists, “No One Was Like Vermeer,” and the audience giggled at his overly sincere delivery and rambling narrative. On an old favorite like “Pablo Picasso,” he changed the words a little, noting that the phrase “to pick up” a girl had a much creepier context in 2010. It was such improvisation that had everyone cooing over his every move. The audience, a slightly older crowd, was much more reverent than a typical Williamsburg mob. The only contrary moment occurred when someone yelled, “Show yer tits!” during a dance number. Richman, ever the gentleman, coyly shook his head.
Whether you think Jonathan Richman is an untrained genius or an overrated man-child, you can’t deny that he’s entertaining. At last night’s show at Bowery Ballroom, he had the audience laughing, dancing, and occasionally ‘aww-ing’ at his painfully honest lyrics and campy dance moves. As endearing as he proved to be, he proved his chops with some fancy guitar playing, accompanied by his right-hand man, Tommy Larkin on drums. Richman started the show with one of his many songs about famous artists, “No One Was Like Vermeer,” and the audience giggled at his overly sincere delivery and rambling narrative. On an old favorite like “Pablo Picasso,” he changed the words a little, noting that the phrase “to pick up” a girl had a much creepier context in 2010. It was such improvisation that had everyone cooing over his every move. The audience, a slightly older crowd, was much more reverent than a typical Williamsburg mob. The only contrary moment occurred when someone yelled, “Show yer tits!” during a dance number. Richman, ever the gentleman, coyly shook his head.
As the majority of Richman’s song are about love (and the lack of it), the show seemed like an ideal place to bring a date. Couples slow-danced to quirky songs like “When We Refuse to Suffer” and “My Baby Love Love Loves Me.” A song like “Springtime in New York,” though idyllic and sentimental, prompted the occasional laugh with its specific references to the constant construction in the city. And of course, there was the dancing. Richman went all out during “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar” had him busting out his most absurd moves, while the audience helped him with the chorus. In the span of an hour, he had the audience sighing and laughing at regular intervals. By the time he ended the show with an a capella rendition of “Even Though I Know I Am The Wind and The Sun, I?” from his new album, he had the crowd doing a little bit of both.
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♥ Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom, New York City (11/1/10) |
