jonathan richman @ the makeout room
Last night, I saw Jonathan Richman (wikipedia) at the Makeout Room.
I’d seen him a few times before but never in such an intimate venue. He can certainly carry a venue like the Great American but everything is magnified in a small venue like the Makeout Room.
I’ll admit upfront that while I like some of his songs, I’m not a huge fan of Jonathan’s recordings. His performances, on the other hand, are a whole different story. If had to describe them in one world, I would say quirky. (Luckily I get more than one word here.)
Switching effortlessly between guitar styles and singing in at least four languages (English, French, Italian Spanish), he weaves tales of romance and quirky observation or declaration (”You can have a cell phone/ That’s okay. But not me!”). He introduces and narrates his songs during musical interludes, letting the audience what know comes next or translating a foreign lyric. Or simply explaining that the forthcoming was a hit-in-Spain-but-not-really-it-just-got-a-lot-of-play-on-two- stations-in-Madrid-and-Valencia-that-probably-knew-each-other-but-probably-didn’t-
like-each-other.
He plays a nylon string classical guitar, which goes well with his romantic style (and especially with his flamenco-style sections). He doesn’t use a guitar strap, which leads to an awkward posture as he presses it against his body or lifts one leg slightly to hold it up. However, it also gives him the freedom to do ornate flourishes at the end of his songs that involve spinning the guitar in one hand while doing a bow.
His shows will put a smile on your face. Not a lot of performers are like some magical happy drug–I came into the show a bit worn out (”zombie”-like as my friend put it) and by a few songs in, I was grinning. He also has a certain command of his audience–like only the Mountain Goats that I’ve seen– where he can really do whatever he wants and it’ll be warmly received. He’s got a certain charm like that.
