Band Previously Seen: 7/7/11 Tivoli, Utrecht (as Jenny and Johnny, supporting Bright Eyes); 11/9/14 Islington Assembly Hall
Gold sequined dress, 70s country bouffant hair, dayglo telephone and props, pink and blue balloons that drop towards the end of the set, and that sweet singing voice and underneath it all the cutting, despairing, black lyrics – welcome to Jenny Lewis in 2019!
The retro set is a visual treat. The band are excellent effortlessly switching between the musical styles that make up this evening’s musical palette. But we are all here for Jenny and she is superb. I have seen her twice before but tonight she is on another level – her confidence rolls over the crowd and seems in turn to be bolstered by their exuberant pleasure at her songs and performance.
She starts off behind her organ but after a couple of songs is up and singing centre stage – an utterly commanding presence, seducing us with her voice, her hand gestures, her knowing smiles, and, not least, with her eye lashes. We are her confidants, we (especially the women in the audience) understand her lyrics all too well but we are buoyed by her spirit and her humour (those despairing lyrics are often shot through with humour, ironic and not).
Her confidence is more than justified by her latest album, On The Line, which is her best since going solo – and of the Rilo Kiley efforts, I would only put Under The Blacklight (the best ever indie Fleetwoood Mac album – why wasn’t it a huge hit?), above it. Not that she is capable of making a bad record – or even writing a bad song.
It is On The Line that dominates the set tonight – the set opens with the album’s opener ‘Heads Gonna Roll’, a song with all the classic JL ingredients. Other highlights from that album tonight are ‘Dogwood’, ‘Wasted Youth’, ‘Party Clown’, and ‘Little White Dove’. We also get several songs from its predecessor The Voyager, the title track and ‘Head Under Water’ delivered with especially great panache.
There are also several songs from Rabbit Fur Coat (the album on which she was joined by The Watson Twins) which provide some of tonight’s highlights. ‘Happy’ is very good but the real stand out is ‘Born Secular’. For this the band become an a cappella chorus and the effect makes the hairs on my arm stand up. The one Rilo Kiley song in the set is the wonderful ‘With Arms Outstretched’.
It was a great evening in the company of an artist at the top of her game. I’ve always loved her song writing but she just seems to get better as she gets older. As a lyricist she is the Joy Division of Alt Country/Indie Country Rock and as a performer her current persona has her as an indie Dolly Parton – long may she reign.
