Jonathan came to the 930 Club in Washington DC last night in fine form. He seemed happy and he looked good in his green shirt, and even Tommy was smiling off and on. There were some interesting new features to the show--- some good and some bad. Tommy had his drum set about 1-2 inches from the edge of the stage, and Jonathan was set up further back. At the beginning and several times during the set, Tommy would play a drum which doubled as his seat, called "Cajon", which I had not seen before. He played it by hand at about his knee level, and it gave a great sound. Unfortunately, the drums being in the foreground led to some diminution of Jonathan's voice in some cases, but not often. The drum seat was hollow and had a microphone behind it. So Tommy is really getting more visibility in the world of Jonathan shows now. Jonathan had to tell the 930 folks to shut off the A/C which is standard for most of the shows he does.
Also unfortunate was the lighting in the show. The whole time, there was backlighting of Jonathan, which led to blinding of the audience and to see Jonathan's face, I had to shade my eyes often or just see a silhouette. The lighting man was over-zealous, I thought, although Peter thinks that Jonathan himself asked for the backlighting so he could see the audience or to discourage photography. I was certainly discouraged by it. I would be curious if other Jonathan fans had noticed him being backlit like that in other shows, which would be a disappointing trend, for those of us who like to stand up front, especially. During the song "The Lilies of the Field", the light man showed some lilies behind Jonathan's head and people started to giggle a bit, so Jonathan turned around and saw it, then interrupted the song to ask the light man to please not show any pictures behind him like that. He just wanted straight, normal lighting. Maybe the light man was smoking something unusual last night!
I believe that Jonathan did 2-3 new songs last night, including "Boston in Wintertime", a song about a house of prostitution in Spanish, and an song he and Tommy worked on the night before, which includes the phrase, "Pretty is pretty for sure, but it isn't everything". All three songs were great, I thought. He did two encores, during which he did the brand new song about being pretty, and the second encore included "Nishi" and "Walter Johnson", a capella.
Here is a set list for those who like to know:
"The World is Showing Its Hand"
drum duet with rhythm sticks and cowbell by Jonathan
"Che Mondo Viviamo"
"Springtime in New York"
"Lesbian Bar" with cowbell
a French song-- about stars that shine like that (?)
"19 in Naples"
"Pablo Picasso"
"Give Paris One More Chance"
"Her Mystery Not of High Heels..."
"Boston in Wintertime"
"Egyptian Reggae"
"Let Her Go Into the Darkness"
drum duet
"Cosi Veloce"
"Lilies of the Field"
"Vincent Van Gogh"
house of prostitution song
"He Gave Us the Wine to Taste"
"My Baby Love, Love, Loves Me Now"
1st encore: song about pretty is pretty for sure, but isn't everything"
2nd encore: Nishi and Walter Johnson
----overall, a pretty good show, not the best, but not the worst either.
-- Sarah
Pictures from this show
Monday, July 11, 2005
Monday, May 02, 2005
Zum Interview....
Jonathan Richman
photos by Alissa Anderson, interview by Jeremy Crown.(an abridged version of this interview appears in the Fall 2004 issue of Herbivore.)
Jonathan Richman is in complete control of the situation: the dingy dimly lit venue, the standing sweaty faithful, and the sound guy, wherever the hell he is. The mics are turning on and off like a kid messing with a light switch, but Jonathan is still singing, no longer in front of the microphone but playing to the crowd. Onstage at the Make Out Room in San Francisco’s Mission District, Jonathan seems at home; dancing with his flamenco guitar off to the side, his left hand down by his leg with his palm out and fingers extended. He really is shaking his hips, like some sort of invisible hula-hoop. The man’s on fire, almost literally; it’s like 100 degrees in this place because he doesn’t want the fan on while he’s playing because of the noise. I don’t blame the guy, but my shirt is sticking to my chest. Somehow, his shirt is still separate, almost loose-fitting. From all the dancing, I guess. It’s no sweat for Jonathan though, he’s been at it for thirty years. Jonathan started playing music at age sixteen in and around Boston, spurred on by his heroes The Velvet Underground. Three years later at age nineteen he formed the Modern Lovers and recorded a demo with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale, unknowingly setting the stage for what would be a new way of looking at music: punk rock. Those years also marked a less publicized milestone—after talking to a rock club janitor he had befriended, he became vegetarian, a decision he has stuck with ever since. In the intervening years he has toured the world many times over and released almost two dozen albums, the most recent of which, this year’s Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love (Vapor/Sanctuary), is one of his best. Those not familiar with his storied career may at least recognize him as the balladeer in the Farrelly Brothers’ romantic comedy There’s Something About Mary, where he and his longtime drummer Tommy Larkins set the scenes with musical commentary and, ironically, play hot dog vendors at one point.The first time I met Jonathan, in my little shop in San Francisco, he was humming a single note while his wife tried on shoes. I remember he was eating a vegan donut and after he finished, walked over to me and said, “So what do you think of Matt Gonzalez?” (Matt is the President of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco and was the Green Party Mayoral Candidate at the time.) Jonathan had publicly supported Matt, playing a show as a fundraiser for him. We talked about the mayoral race and the current president and other political issues, themes that continue to this day between us. He’s a very political guy but not in any way that is very public. He may say things during one of his shows, like on the Take Me To The Plaza live DVD (Vapor) in which he talks about the war in Iraq. But his first real overtly political song comes on his new album with “Abu Jamal,” a slow pump organ-driven track about the imprisoned writer who has incited an anti-death penalty movement. Jonathan seems to be the type of guy that really stands for things and believes in them and is willing to go Downtown and flyer for them. At the same time though, he’s not a rigid dogmatist; rather his ideology is optimism. He believes in life being beautiful and maybe a little tragic; whether it’s “Springtime in New York,” “Lilies of the Field,” or “Dancing in a Lesbian Bar.” The beauty is there and in front of us all, it just takes Jonathan to remind us, to sing it in our ear (maybe in Spanish, maybe in Italian). Sitting in my shop again on a brisk San Francisco summer day, we talked about the politics of life and speaking for those who cannot speak: the animals, the glass bottles, the bowls of oats. And like the man says, if you’re ever in a jam, “just add raisins and you’re livin’ like a king.”
Being Vegan
Zum: Do you identify yourself as a vegetarian?
Jonathan Richman: It’s a great question. Right now I identify as vegan. I’m not strict, 100%. Every once in a while in some country, someone’s mother will make somethin’ and I’m not gonna ask grandma...you know like she’s there, she’s got her apron on and she spent four hours and I’m a guest at her house. I’m not gonna say, “Excuse me is there oleo Margarine and is there hydrogenated this-and-that. Nah, I eat somethin’. You know, I do the best I can. (laughs). Left to my own devices I’m mostly a vegan.We can talk about how it is traveling and staying vegan.
Zum: Is it harder now to be vegetarian and travel now?
JR: Oh it’s much easier. Like going to Germany in 1970, it was sausage and sausage and sausage and sauerkraut drenched in whatever. It’s easier now. There are health food stores on every corner, all over the world. All over where I travel anyway. Even if there aren’t, if you have to travel you can take a few things with ya. Like, take a bag of oats. You can just add water to ‘em, you don’t have to cook ‘em. You get a bowl and oats. Take some sea salt…Add water, you got a meal. (laughs) A few raisins, you’re livin’ like a king. (laughs)
Zum: When did you first think of yourself as a vegetarian.
JR: Well, when I was 17 I knew this older guy. He must have been old like 26 or 24 (laughs)… And it was at this rock club I hung out at and he was the janitor and later became a friend for life. And he said things to me like, “Hey, did you ever think of being a vegetarian?” and I said, “No, can you do it? Can you live like that?” and he said “Yeah..” I said, “and you don’t, like starve to death?” and he said, “No.” And he was a big strong muscular guy himself and he said, ”I’m one” and I said, “That’s great.” And so I tried it. My mother had a fit. All of the sudden, “you mean you don’t want the corn beef sandwiches?” You know, like she would always make. And I tried it without it, and I made the mistake that new vegetarians make which is going to yogurt and sugar, like fruit-flavored yogurt with lots of honey in things. Cause you want something other than just the raw carrot. And if it’s not gonna be meat, a lot of times the temptation is to go to lots of dairy products and especially you end up getting sweetened stuff for some reason, I’m not quite sure what it is. And that was not doing it. My mother called that one right, she said, “You’re getting sick because you’re eating too much sugar,” and she was right. So that was when I first got interested. I was more or less a vegetarian from then on.
Buying Chickpeas in Spain
Zum: I know you like Spain a lot and you have songs in Spanish on your new album. However, I found that in France, when I was just vegetarian, that it was hard to get across what vegetarian really meant.
JR: Yeah, in fact sometimes in France I can think of instances where a friend of mine would take me to a certain place and the guy who ran it was a friend of his. And my pal never brought me back there again ‘cause it was too embarrassing for him. They get too offended. They question your manhood…they have all kinds of problems with it. (laughs) It is a fixed system—it’s changing. But that generally is the way it’s always been. That’s restaurants, but you can go around this by going to a grocery store and get some oats and get a can of chickpeas…. There are loads of good things you can eat. In restaurants it’s much harder as you say ‘cause then there is a social question. “Is this person gonna be insulted?” A lot of times the chef will, but the grocery clerk isn’t gonna be offended when you just buy chickpeas.There are now vegan restaurants in Spain. We went to one in Salamanca. There are vegan restaurants in Madrid. There’s also in Spain, articles in the daily papers against bullfighting.
Zum: Do you think that’s a movement really?
JR: Yes, and this is a big change for Spain, that you could even find such articles on the editorial pages of the daily papers; and long articles too.
Zum: Do you notice a good response to that from people you talked to?
JR: Actually I didn’t talk to anyone, I just read the papers. But I noticed, well the city of Barcelona has already passed a resolution to make Barcelona a non-bullfighting city. It’s major. It’s not legally binding but there is a group that had enough of a majority that they could make a resolution like that.
The President
Zum: It’s hard… especially with the Bush Administration, I feel that Americans are always in everybody’s face as far as our opinions (i.e. Iraq, etc). I can’t change what Bush does but I think that maybe if I can present myself in a more even way then I'll feel as though I can give myself a better name as an American. You know what I mean?
JR: No, ‘cause too much emphasis is being placed on who’s president. I think we’ve been like this for years. Some presidents are worse public speakers than others, but the program is similar. There has been a basic party line, no matter which party it is.
Zum: Well, it’s hard to know what to do. You feel a little disenfranchised.
JR: Well, Paul McCartney said that being a vegetarian is one of the best single things you can do for environment and for other things. I don’t know how much we can do about what other people do, but I think we can do something ourselves.
Farm Sanctuary
Zum: I know you’ve gone to Farm Sanctuary in Orland (Northern California). How has that experience been for you, just spending time there?
JR: Farm Sanctuary is great. To be with those animals is something that affects you inside. Because you get to be quiet with them, they’re not in a tense situation where they’re about to be shipped off and be sold. So there is a sort of calm to the place. It’s very nice, I recommend it.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
JR: Why don’t I tell you what its like to travel around the states and get vegan stuff?
Zum: Yeah
JR: Ok, here’s what its like. You pack up some stuff first. You can get lots of stuff, you can get oats, you can get cans of beans, you can get all kinds of snacks if you’re driving, like corn chips and stuff. You can get instant hummus, you know, where you just add water…So to me one of the key things is getting your water out of bottles made out of glass. So, we travel around in a van now, I’ve had it for a long time—this van for several years. So that’s enough room so you can pack about a dozen glass bottles of water. Then the water…that’s got to be good. So we order from this company EcoWise in Austin, Texas. Their phone number is 512-326-4474 (laughs). Their brand of filter, just say “the one that Jonathan uses” and they’ll know what to send ya. (laughs) ‘Cause we order ‘em for friends, cause they even filter out MTBEs.That’s what’s in your drinking water because of gasoline. MTBEs were an additive to gasoline in certain high smog parts of the country like California. They knew how dangerous it was even way back but they insisted on using it anyway. They knew that it was dangerous enough so that it would get into wells and aquifers. So it’s in aquifers I believe as far east as Kansas. You don’t want it. It’s not water, you don’t want it. Get yourself a water filter that can filter out MTBEs.
Zum: And you just get this to put on your sink?
JR: In this case, yes. And like I say, I like that company Ecowise and I trust their stuff. So we’ve been using those filters for a while.
Zum: So you just make enough that you can go on your trip with it?
JR: Well, that’s good but then sometimes I’ll just stop at health food stores and get that purified water and in super markets I’ll get a refill there. But I think that vegans and other people should consider not using plastic bottles anymore. Both because you might notice it tastes different, and whatever taste it has, that’s something you might not want. And also, what could be a worse environmental disaster than 40 trillion plastic bottles every day being used just for drinking water to be thrown away.
Zum: And you can’t always recycle them.
JR: And even when you can, people have explained to me that it’s a limited thing with plastic how much good that recycling does. And also, one of the reasons I travel with my own glass bottles is because let’s say I’m playing at a night club and the usual way it’s done in the music business is there is a rider that goes along with your contract where you tell the club owner everything he’s got to provide for you. These are usually elaborate. We don’t have anything on ours. But usually people want all kinds of M&Ms and wine and things and one of the things they want is drinking water, and they’re fussy about it. But it’s all in plastic bottles. The lead singer then flounces around and drinks 1/8 of his bottle. All the other 7/8ths of it gets swept up by the crew afterwards you know. Little Lord Fauntleroy drinks 1/8 of it and the rest of it gets wasted. All this stuff gets demanded and people drink or eat 1/12 of it. I think people gotta stop using plastic bottles and I want to do my bit. Also I don’t want to drink that stuff myself. I guess it was some young schoolgirl who did a science report recently…I heard about this on the radio, on the effects of plastic. I don’t know the specifics of it, but it’s alarming. Even when it’s just when things are bottled with it. So I can’t say for sure, but that’s what I’ve heard. And let your stomach tell ya, just the taste of it tells ya something. So….you get your water, you get your oats or whatever you like…The thing is you can travel around the country and be a vegan. You can eat like a king that way. There are these different products, like Tartex makes these vegetarian pâtés in a can with yeast in. Yeast is good for vegetarians you know ‘cause you gotta have some of those vitamins. And there are different ways of getting yeast…Let me see, there are just so many things you can do. And then there’re lots of vegetarian/vegan restaurants now. The United States is actually full of ‘em, it’s spreading. Now almost anywhere in the States I’ve gone you say the word “vegan” and they know what you mean at least. They may not have seen one before, but at least they’ve heard of ‘em.
Business Opportunities
JR: I’m surprised San Francisco doesn’t have more information about macrobiotics. That’s one thing that if any of your readership out there is looking for an enterprise, I think there is room for a macrobiotic food shop and bookshop and restaurant here in the city.
Zum: Do you ever want to do anything like that? Open a business or…
JR: You never know, who knows what will happen. I’m still busy just learning how to play guitar…(laughs). Truly.
END
The original article, with photos, is available here...
http://www.zumonline.com/zine/?x=107
photos by Alissa Anderson, interview by Jeremy Crown.(an abridged version of this interview appears in the Fall 2004 issue of Herbivore.)
Jonathan Richman is in complete control of the situation: the dingy dimly lit venue, the standing sweaty faithful, and the sound guy, wherever the hell he is. The mics are turning on and off like a kid messing with a light switch, but Jonathan is still singing, no longer in front of the microphone but playing to the crowd. Onstage at the Make Out Room in San Francisco’s Mission District, Jonathan seems at home; dancing with his flamenco guitar off to the side, his left hand down by his leg with his palm out and fingers extended. He really is shaking his hips, like some sort of invisible hula-hoop. The man’s on fire, almost literally; it’s like 100 degrees in this place because he doesn’t want the fan on while he’s playing because of the noise. I don’t blame the guy, but my shirt is sticking to my chest. Somehow, his shirt is still separate, almost loose-fitting. From all the dancing, I guess. It’s no sweat for Jonathan though, he’s been at it for thirty years. Jonathan started playing music at age sixteen in and around Boston, spurred on by his heroes The Velvet Underground. Three years later at age nineteen he formed the Modern Lovers and recorded a demo with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale, unknowingly setting the stage for what would be a new way of looking at music: punk rock. Those years also marked a less publicized milestone—after talking to a rock club janitor he had befriended, he became vegetarian, a decision he has stuck with ever since. In the intervening years he has toured the world many times over and released almost two dozen albums, the most recent of which, this year’s Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love (Vapor/Sanctuary), is one of his best. Those not familiar with his storied career may at least recognize him as the balladeer in the Farrelly Brothers’ romantic comedy There’s Something About Mary, where he and his longtime drummer Tommy Larkins set the scenes with musical commentary and, ironically, play hot dog vendors at one point.The first time I met Jonathan, in my little shop in San Francisco, he was humming a single note while his wife tried on shoes. I remember he was eating a vegan donut and after he finished, walked over to me and said, “So what do you think of Matt Gonzalez?” (Matt is the President of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco and was the Green Party Mayoral Candidate at the time.) Jonathan had publicly supported Matt, playing a show as a fundraiser for him. We talked about the mayoral race and the current president and other political issues, themes that continue to this day between us. He’s a very political guy but not in any way that is very public. He may say things during one of his shows, like on the Take Me To The Plaza live DVD (Vapor) in which he talks about the war in Iraq. But his first real overtly political song comes on his new album with “Abu Jamal,” a slow pump organ-driven track about the imprisoned writer who has incited an anti-death penalty movement. Jonathan seems to be the type of guy that really stands for things and believes in them and is willing to go Downtown and flyer for them. At the same time though, he’s not a rigid dogmatist; rather his ideology is optimism. He believes in life being beautiful and maybe a little tragic; whether it’s “Springtime in New York,” “Lilies of the Field,” or “Dancing in a Lesbian Bar.” The beauty is there and in front of us all, it just takes Jonathan to remind us, to sing it in our ear (maybe in Spanish, maybe in Italian). Sitting in my shop again on a brisk San Francisco summer day, we talked about the politics of life and speaking for those who cannot speak: the animals, the glass bottles, the bowls of oats. And like the man says, if you’re ever in a jam, “just add raisins and you’re livin’ like a king.”
Being Vegan
Zum: Do you identify yourself as a vegetarian?
Jonathan Richman: It’s a great question. Right now I identify as vegan. I’m not strict, 100%. Every once in a while in some country, someone’s mother will make somethin’ and I’m not gonna ask grandma...you know like she’s there, she’s got her apron on and she spent four hours and I’m a guest at her house. I’m not gonna say, “Excuse me is there oleo Margarine and is there hydrogenated this-and-that. Nah, I eat somethin’. You know, I do the best I can. (laughs). Left to my own devices I’m mostly a vegan.We can talk about how it is traveling and staying vegan.
Zum: Is it harder now to be vegetarian and travel now?
JR: Oh it’s much easier. Like going to Germany in 1970, it was sausage and sausage and sausage and sauerkraut drenched in whatever. It’s easier now. There are health food stores on every corner, all over the world. All over where I travel anyway. Even if there aren’t, if you have to travel you can take a few things with ya. Like, take a bag of oats. You can just add water to ‘em, you don’t have to cook ‘em. You get a bowl and oats. Take some sea salt…Add water, you got a meal. (laughs) A few raisins, you’re livin’ like a king. (laughs)
Zum: When did you first think of yourself as a vegetarian.
JR: Well, when I was 17 I knew this older guy. He must have been old like 26 or 24 (laughs)… And it was at this rock club I hung out at and he was the janitor and later became a friend for life. And he said things to me like, “Hey, did you ever think of being a vegetarian?” and I said, “No, can you do it? Can you live like that?” and he said “Yeah..” I said, “and you don’t, like starve to death?” and he said, “No.” And he was a big strong muscular guy himself and he said, ”I’m one” and I said, “That’s great.” And so I tried it. My mother had a fit. All of the sudden, “you mean you don’t want the corn beef sandwiches?” You know, like she would always make. And I tried it without it, and I made the mistake that new vegetarians make which is going to yogurt and sugar, like fruit-flavored yogurt with lots of honey in things. Cause you want something other than just the raw carrot. And if it’s not gonna be meat, a lot of times the temptation is to go to lots of dairy products and especially you end up getting sweetened stuff for some reason, I’m not quite sure what it is. And that was not doing it. My mother called that one right, she said, “You’re getting sick because you’re eating too much sugar,” and she was right. So that was when I first got interested. I was more or less a vegetarian from then on.
Buying Chickpeas in Spain
Zum: I know you like Spain a lot and you have songs in Spanish on your new album. However, I found that in France, when I was just vegetarian, that it was hard to get across what vegetarian really meant.
JR: Yeah, in fact sometimes in France I can think of instances where a friend of mine would take me to a certain place and the guy who ran it was a friend of his. And my pal never brought me back there again ‘cause it was too embarrassing for him. They get too offended. They question your manhood…they have all kinds of problems with it. (laughs) It is a fixed system—it’s changing. But that generally is the way it’s always been. That’s restaurants, but you can go around this by going to a grocery store and get some oats and get a can of chickpeas…. There are loads of good things you can eat. In restaurants it’s much harder as you say ‘cause then there is a social question. “Is this person gonna be insulted?” A lot of times the chef will, but the grocery clerk isn’t gonna be offended when you just buy chickpeas.There are now vegan restaurants in Spain. We went to one in Salamanca. There are vegan restaurants in Madrid. There’s also in Spain, articles in the daily papers against bullfighting.
Zum: Do you think that’s a movement really?
JR: Yes, and this is a big change for Spain, that you could even find such articles on the editorial pages of the daily papers; and long articles too.
Zum: Do you notice a good response to that from people you talked to?
JR: Actually I didn’t talk to anyone, I just read the papers. But I noticed, well the city of Barcelona has already passed a resolution to make Barcelona a non-bullfighting city. It’s major. It’s not legally binding but there is a group that had enough of a majority that they could make a resolution like that.
The President
Zum: It’s hard… especially with the Bush Administration, I feel that Americans are always in everybody’s face as far as our opinions (i.e. Iraq, etc). I can’t change what Bush does but I think that maybe if I can present myself in a more even way then I'll feel as though I can give myself a better name as an American. You know what I mean?
JR: No, ‘cause too much emphasis is being placed on who’s president. I think we’ve been like this for years. Some presidents are worse public speakers than others, but the program is similar. There has been a basic party line, no matter which party it is.
Zum: Well, it’s hard to know what to do. You feel a little disenfranchised.
JR: Well, Paul McCartney said that being a vegetarian is one of the best single things you can do for environment and for other things. I don’t know how much we can do about what other people do, but I think we can do something ourselves.
Farm Sanctuary
Zum: I know you’ve gone to Farm Sanctuary in Orland (Northern California). How has that experience been for you, just spending time there?
JR: Farm Sanctuary is great. To be with those animals is something that affects you inside. Because you get to be quiet with them, they’re not in a tense situation where they’re about to be shipped off and be sold. So there is a sort of calm to the place. It’s very nice, I recommend it.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
JR: Why don’t I tell you what its like to travel around the states and get vegan stuff?
Zum: Yeah
JR: Ok, here’s what its like. You pack up some stuff first. You can get lots of stuff, you can get oats, you can get cans of beans, you can get all kinds of snacks if you’re driving, like corn chips and stuff. You can get instant hummus, you know, where you just add water…So to me one of the key things is getting your water out of bottles made out of glass. So, we travel around in a van now, I’ve had it for a long time—this van for several years. So that’s enough room so you can pack about a dozen glass bottles of water. Then the water…that’s got to be good. So we order from this company EcoWise in Austin, Texas. Their phone number is 512-326-4474 (laughs). Their brand of filter, just say “the one that Jonathan uses” and they’ll know what to send ya. (laughs) ‘Cause we order ‘em for friends, cause they even filter out MTBEs.That’s what’s in your drinking water because of gasoline. MTBEs were an additive to gasoline in certain high smog parts of the country like California. They knew how dangerous it was even way back but they insisted on using it anyway. They knew that it was dangerous enough so that it would get into wells and aquifers. So it’s in aquifers I believe as far east as Kansas. You don’t want it. It’s not water, you don’t want it. Get yourself a water filter that can filter out MTBEs.
Zum: And you just get this to put on your sink?
JR: In this case, yes. And like I say, I like that company Ecowise and I trust their stuff. So we’ve been using those filters for a while.
Zum: So you just make enough that you can go on your trip with it?
JR: Well, that’s good but then sometimes I’ll just stop at health food stores and get that purified water and in super markets I’ll get a refill there. But I think that vegans and other people should consider not using plastic bottles anymore. Both because you might notice it tastes different, and whatever taste it has, that’s something you might not want. And also, what could be a worse environmental disaster than 40 trillion plastic bottles every day being used just for drinking water to be thrown away.
Zum: And you can’t always recycle them.
JR: And even when you can, people have explained to me that it’s a limited thing with plastic how much good that recycling does. And also, one of the reasons I travel with my own glass bottles is because let’s say I’m playing at a night club and the usual way it’s done in the music business is there is a rider that goes along with your contract where you tell the club owner everything he’s got to provide for you. These are usually elaborate. We don’t have anything on ours. But usually people want all kinds of M&Ms and wine and things and one of the things they want is drinking water, and they’re fussy about it. But it’s all in plastic bottles. The lead singer then flounces around and drinks 1/8 of his bottle. All the other 7/8ths of it gets swept up by the crew afterwards you know. Little Lord Fauntleroy drinks 1/8 of it and the rest of it gets wasted. All this stuff gets demanded and people drink or eat 1/12 of it. I think people gotta stop using plastic bottles and I want to do my bit. Also I don’t want to drink that stuff myself. I guess it was some young schoolgirl who did a science report recently…I heard about this on the radio, on the effects of plastic. I don’t know the specifics of it, but it’s alarming. Even when it’s just when things are bottled with it. So I can’t say for sure, but that’s what I’ve heard. And let your stomach tell ya, just the taste of it tells ya something. So….you get your water, you get your oats or whatever you like…The thing is you can travel around the country and be a vegan. You can eat like a king that way. There are these different products, like Tartex makes these vegetarian pâtés in a can with yeast in. Yeast is good for vegetarians you know ‘cause you gotta have some of those vitamins. And there are different ways of getting yeast…Let me see, there are just so many things you can do. And then there’re lots of vegetarian/vegan restaurants now. The United States is actually full of ‘em, it’s spreading. Now almost anywhere in the States I’ve gone you say the word “vegan” and they know what you mean at least. They may not have seen one before, but at least they’ve heard of ‘em.
Business Opportunities
JR: I’m surprised San Francisco doesn’t have more information about macrobiotics. That’s one thing that if any of your readership out there is looking for an enterprise, I think there is room for a macrobiotic food shop and bookshop and restaurant here in the city.
Zum: Do you ever want to do anything like that? Open a business or…
JR: You never know, who knows what will happen. I’m still busy just learning how to play guitar…(laughs). Truly.
END
The original article, with photos, is available here...
http://www.zumonline.com/zine/?x=107
Friday, April 22, 2005
The Tractor Tavern, Seatle, 13th & 14th December 2004
(Lifted from Plan B mag...)
He's not wearing a guitar strap.
How could he? It would destroy the fluidity of his dancing; dropping to his knees, twirling his acoustic, resting a foot on a handily-positioned paint pot; a flamenco flourish here, a strutted samba there; high kicking, low kicking; dropping his guitar altogether and pointing straight to his heart; urging us onwards with his eyes and broad smile, eyebrows arched; the very picture of projected happiness; never lost for a description of New York in the springtime, switching from French to Italian through arguments in Tel Aviv and Damascas with deceptive ease; clacking together electrified blocks and adjusting the soundboard to allow drummer Tommy Larkins even more clarity; shouting across to the side to close the back door.
This is my kind of heaven: two low-key shows from the man whose witty, poignant and minimalist vision of rock'n'roll has helped inform almost everything that I have loved about music ever since he started strumming his guitar, over three decades ago. Jonathan is in love with an ideal of rock'n'roll that ceased to exist the moment the Colonels took over from the street corner balladeers. Me too.
This is pure. This is precious.
The two nights blur into one: Jonathan leads the audience in a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'. Jonathan asks us plaintively "Will we return to our drab and stagnant ways?" while people laugh anyway. Jonathan blesses us under the sign of the cross after a gorgeous extended version of 'My Baby Loves Me Now' from the new album. Jonathan causes fans to chuckle afresh at stories he first told 30 years ago ('Girlfren', 'Pablo Picasso', wherein the troubadour makes great play of refusing to rhyme "Picasso" with "asshole" because – what d'ya know – it doesn't!). Personally, I could've taken a little more of the incisive two-minute pop of 'Give Paris One More Chance' and a little less cutesy 'Lesbian Bar' banter: but there again, it's a thrill to see Jonathan dance. (He was the first person ever to dance to Ramones.) Also, this artist continues to grow and refresh anew each time he breaks into one more false ending for (the tear-jerking) 'Let Her Go', each time Tommy shoots him a sidelong glance and teases a few minutes out the snare.
Earlier, I was asked if I'm ever nervous before interviews: Yoko Ono at the Dakota is my standard reply. Add to that, Jonathan at a friendly, warm Seattle pub venue: completely unprepossessing and able to make every audience member feel he's serenading them alone. I'm unable to say hi. He's an entertainer – and the mask may not be the reality. (Although a rare glimpse into the dressing room shows Jonathan and Tommy wreathed in smiles.) I don't want to break the spell.
The fact neither night is sold out (whereas such achingly ordinary-by-comparison shows by Neko Case and Iron & Wine, at larger venues, are) is not a damning indictment of anything. It just shows how special Jonathan is, that he continues to entertain and perform for us: and for us alone.
Words by Everett True.
http://www.planbmag.com/content/view/55/40/
.............................
And here's a neat review from the previous year... same venue, different Mag...
Copacetic Zine...
Reviews
Jonathan Richman, Tuesday, January 21, 2003 • Tractor Tavern, Seattle
Last night, before seeing our beloved Jo-Jo, we managed to watch the first half-hour of American Idol. Here were thousands upon thousands of young adults, all desperate and vying to be the next pop sensation. We watched a little of it, then put on our sneakers to walk a block over to the amazingly cool Tractor Tavern here in Ballard. What an amazingly cool little club! All their employees were as nice as could be, and very professional. I'm impressed!
After a delightful opening act of two charming Hispanic men singing traditional Mexican folk songs, the amazing, legendary Jonathan Richman took the stage with his loyal sidekick, Tommy Larkins. Now, here's a man who would never make the cut with the AI Judges. His voice, while rich and expressive, is also quirky and distinctive. His look has never been trendy, and hasn't changed a bit in the last 30 years: here is a man who always looks classic and never ages, not even with the grey goatee he's now sporting. But, you know, to me, this man personifies entertainment. He is the ultimate performer, pouring his heart into it, keeping a close eye on the crowd, making sure people are happy. Mike and I talked briefly with him once after a show in Austin, TX, and when I thanked him for putting on such a great show, he told me, "I just want to make people happy." To me, he's definitely an American idol, as cheesy and insanely corny as that sounds!
And I definitely think Jonathan made everyone happy last night! He actually played two sold-out shows here in Seattle (we tried to get in last night too, but couldn't manage). The crowd was packed with fans who could sing along to every word (and like the guy behind me, sometimes did!) Some of the fans were a little too enthusiastic, constantly shouting at Jonathan and Tommy, even during the quiet parts of their songs and stuff. Not cool! As someone shouted out from the crowd, "No talking to the bus driver!" AMEN!
Jojo charmed with a great set-list of classics like "Pablo Picasso", "Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eyeshadow", "Rooming House on Venice Beach" and tons more. When he sang "Springtime in New York", a couple who had traveled from said city just to see him shouted out, "New York misses you!" and Jonathan, in a cute wide-eyed shocked way, replied into the mic, "It does?!" Hee! He's so cute!
He and Tommy seemed to be in great moods last night. Jonathan was really chatty, which I love, and was beaming endearing grins all night. Tommy looked like he was trying hard not to laugh most of the time. At one point in the show, Jonathan called out in his thick Bostonian accent, "How ya doing over there, Tommy?" and Tommy replied, "Great, how about you?" and they smiled at each other. It was so sweet! And Jonathan broke it down during "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar", doing a pretty extended dance groove for us! He was just feelin' it last night! : D
Oh, and when he did "Let Her Go Into the Darkness" he broke it down in the middle and did this hysterical spoken bit, saying "Okay, now, don't be this guy..." and then going into a fake-speech-to-the-girlfriend thing. "'Cause you know, she's just gonna come back with this..." and then Jonathan went all high-pitched and girly, saying, "You can't control me!!!" The audience was totally cracking up! And then Jonathan said, "You know, as we speak, a conversation like that is happening right now in...Madrid!" and then Jonathan did the two voices again, but in Spanish!!! Then he goes, "And it's also probably happening...in France!" and then he starts in again in French! Holy moly, this man is multi-lingual! He also did Hebrew!!! Ab-so-lutely hysterical!
They played for about 90 minutes, and not a bad moment in the set! After receiving a roar of applause, Tommy left the stage, and JoJo closed out the set with a performance of "Walter Johnson" with the audience helping out on the "bom babom babom babom babom babom babom"'s. JoJo seemed really into it, stopping the song, saying, "Okay, here's a quick story about Walter..." and then "Okay, one more story..." and sharing these cute little anecdotes about this former baseball player from the early 1900's. Jonathan is so amazing. It just blows my mind that he's in his 50's, like my parents are, and that he's been writing and performing music longer than I've been on this planet. He has such obvious love and passion for performing, and it warms my heart to him every single time we see him. Like I told Mike after the show, Jonathan is the Walter Johnson of indie rock! Whatta charmer!
And then we came home and watched the rest of the American Idol season premiere. And I couldn't help but remember the lyrics from one of the songs JoJo sang for us earlier that night (paraphrased here, 'cause my memory's not good), "It's better to love, than to be loved." Something for these poor kids to remember when no one remembers their name a year later.related links•
http://www.copacetic-zine.com/concerts/jojoinballard.php
check out some more pics of the show at photophonic.com!
He's not wearing a guitar strap.
How could he? It would destroy the fluidity of his dancing; dropping to his knees, twirling his acoustic, resting a foot on a handily-positioned paint pot; a flamenco flourish here, a strutted samba there; high kicking, low kicking; dropping his guitar altogether and pointing straight to his heart; urging us onwards with his eyes and broad smile, eyebrows arched; the very picture of projected happiness; never lost for a description of New York in the springtime, switching from French to Italian through arguments in Tel Aviv and Damascas with deceptive ease; clacking together electrified blocks and adjusting the soundboard to allow drummer Tommy Larkins even more clarity; shouting across to the side to close the back door.
This is my kind of heaven: two low-key shows from the man whose witty, poignant and minimalist vision of rock'n'roll has helped inform almost everything that I have loved about music ever since he started strumming his guitar, over three decades ago. Jonathan is in love with an ideal of rock'n'roll that ceased to exist the moment the Colonels took over from the street corner balladeers. Me too.
This is pure. This is precious.
The two nights blur into one: Jonathan leads the audience in a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'. Jonathan asks us plaintively "Will we return to our drab and stagnant ways?" while people laugh anyway. Jonathan blesses us under the sign of the cross after a gorgeous extended version of 'My Baby Loves Me Now' from the new album. Jonathan causes fans to chuckle afresh at stories he first told 30 years ago ('Girlfren', 'Pablo Picasso', wherein the troubadour makes great play of refusing to rhyme "Picasso" with "asshole" because – what d'ya know – it doesn't!). Personally, I could've taken a little more of the incisive two-minute pop of 'Give Paris One More Chance' and a little less cutesy 'Lesbian Bar' banter: but there again, it's a thrill to see Jonathan dance. (He was the first person ever to dance to Ramones.) Also, this artist continues to grow and refresh anew each time he breaks into one more false ending for (the tear-jerking) 'Let Her Go', each time Tommy shoots him a sidelong glance and teases a few minutes out the snare.
Earlier, I was asked if I'm ever nervous before interviews: Yoko Ono at the Dakota is my standard reply. Add to that, Jonathan at a friendly, warm Seattle pub venue: completely unprepossessing and able to make every audience member feel he's serenading them alone. I'm unable to say hi. He's an entertainer – and the mask may not be the reality. (Although a rare glimpse into the dressing room shows Jonathan and Tommy wreathed in smiles.) I don't want to break the spell.
The fact neither night is sold out (whereas such achingly ordinary-by-comparison shows by Neko Case and Iron & Wine, at larger venues, are) is not a damning indictment of anything. It just shows how special Jonathan is, that he continues to entertain and perform for us: and for us alone.
Words by Everett True.
http://www.planbmag.com/content/view/55/40/
.............................
And here's a neat review from the previous year... same venue, different Mag...
Copacetic Zine...
Reviews
Jonathan Richman, Tuesday, January 21, 2003 • Tractor Tavern, Seattle
Last night, before seeing our beloved Jo-Jo, we managed to watch the first half-hour of American Idol. Here were thousands upon thousands of young adults, all desperate and vying to be the next pop sensation. We watched a little of it, then put on our sneakers to walk a block over to the amazingly cool Tractor Tavern here in Ballard. What an amazingly cool little club! All their employees were as nice as could be, and very professional. I'm impressed!
After a delightful opening act of two charming Hispanic men singing traditional Mexican folk songs, the amazing, legendary Jonathan Richman took the stage with his loyal sidekick, Tommy Larkins. Now, here's a man who would never make the cut with the AI Judges. His voice, while rich and expressive, is also quirky and distinctive. His look has never been trendy, and hasn't changed a bit in the last 30 years: here is a man who always looks classic and never ages, not even with the grey goatee he's now sporting. But, you know, to me, this man personifies entertainment. He is the ultimate performer, pouring his heart into it, keeping a close eye on the crowd, making sure people are happy. Mike and I talked briefly with him once after a show in Austin, TX, and when I thanked him for putting on such a great show, he told me, "I just want to make people happy." To me, he's definitely an American idol, as cheesy and insanely corny as that sounds!
And I definitely think Jonathan made everyone happy last night! He actually played two sold-out shows here in Seattle (we tried to get in last night too, but couldn't manage). The crowd was packed with fans who could sing along to every word (and like the guy behind me, sometimes did!) Some of the fans were a little too enthusiastic, constantly shouting at Jonathan and Tommy, even during the quiet parts of their songs and stuff. Not cool! As someone shouted out from the crowd, "No talking to the bus driver!" AMEN!
Jojo charmed with a great set-list of classics like "Pablo Picasso", "Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eyeshadow", "Rooming House on Venice Beach" and tons more. When he sang "Springtime in New York", a couple who had traveled from said city just to see him shouted out, "New York misses you!" and Jonathan, in a cute wide-eyed shocked way, replied into the mic, "It does?!" Hee! He's so cute!
He and Tommy seemed to be in great moods last night. Jonathan was really chatty, which I love, and was beaming endearing grins all night. Tommy looked like he was trying hard not to laugh most of the time. At one point in the show, Jonathan called out in his thick Bostonian accent, "How ya doing over there, Tommy?" and Tommy replied, "Great, how about you?" and they smiled at each other. It was so sweet! And Jonathan broke it down during "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar", doing a pretty extended dance groove for us! He was just feelin' it last night! : D
Oh, and when he did "Let Her Go Into the Darkness" he broke it down in the middle and did this hysterical spoken bit, saying "Okay, now, don't be this guy..." and then going into a fake-speech-to-the-girlfriend thing. "'Cause you know, she's just gonna come back with this..." and then Jonathan went all high-pitched and girly, saying, "You can't control me!!!" The audience was totally cracking up! And then Jonathan said, "You know, as we speak, a conversation like that is happening right now in...Madrid!" and then Jonathan did the two voices again, but in Spanish!!! Then he goes, "And it's also probably happening...in France!" and then he starts in again in French! Holy moly, this man is multi-lingual! He also did Hebrew!!! Ab-so-lutely hysterical!
They played for about 90 minutes, and not a bad moment in the set! After receiving a roar of applause, Tommy left the stage, and JoJo closed out the set with a performance of "Walter Johnson" with the audience helping out on the "bom babom babom babom babom babom babom"'s. JoJo seemed really into it, stopping the song, saying, "Okay, here's a quick story about Walter..." and then "Okay, one more story..." and sharing these cute little anecdotes about this former baseball player from the early 1900's. Jonathan is so amazing. It just blows my mind that he's in his 50's, like my parents are, and that he's been writing and performing music longer than I've been on this planet. He has such obvious love and passion for performing, and it warms my heart to him every single time we see him. Like I told Mike after the show, Jonathan is the Walter Johnson of indie rock! Whatta charmer!
And then we came home and watched the rest of the American Idol season premiere. And I couldn't help but remember the lyrics from one of the songs JoJo sang for us earlier that night (paraphrased here, 'cause my memory's not good), "It's better to love, than to be loved." Something for these poor kids to remember when no one remembers their name a year later.related links•
http://www.copacetic-zine.com/concerts/jojoinballard.php
check out some more pics of the show at photophonic.com!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Jonathan Richman Grows Up
Addicted To Noise Philadelphia correspondent Chris Nelson reports: The last time Jonathan Richman played the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, he left the stage for intermission, only to return a few minutes later. Squinting into the spotlight, he asked, "Would anybody mind if we moved these chairs?"
That night was the first time Jonathan had been booked in the TLA, a former movie theater that holds 800 people standing, or 400 when temporary chairs are set up. Since Jojo used to play a Philly room that held just a hundred people, it must have seemed natural to arrange the TLA for its smaller, seated capacity.
It didn't, however, seem natural to Jonathan. "You see," he explained, "I need to see people dance,and you can't dance with all these chairs on the floor." Now, rock stars are known for encouraging people to rip up their seats, but Jonathan was politely asking for the management's permission to do so. "I'll help move 'em if you want. We can all pitch in, and stack 'em in an orderly fashion on the side. What do you say?" he asked the crowd. Five minutes later the floor was cleared, the chairs were stacked, and both Jojo and the audience were much happier.
When the Modern Lovers founder returned to the TLA on Tues. night (April 9), almost a year to the day from the collective chair-piling gig, the management made sure that the chairs were not set up. They know Jonathan now.
For his part, Jonathan seems to know his loyal audience wherever he goes. He certainly sensed that Philadelphians, aghast at a snowy evening this late in the year, would love nothing more than to see him to start the show with "That Summer Feeling."
Jonathan's onstage relationship with his fans rivals that of artists like Springsteen or the Grateful Dead, although his is on a much more intimate and human scale (in contrast to the dramatic, often larger than life, scale of Springsteen's shows, or to the communal nature of Dead concerts).
For example, three songs into the set, Jonathan knelt down at stage right to tune his guitar. Breaking the silence, someone a few feet back on the floor asked quite graciously, "Hey, Jonathan...?"
Jonathan: "Yeah?"
Fan: "Will you play 'When Harpo Played His Harp' sometime tonight?"
Jonathan: "OK."
When he was finished with his guitar, Jonathan stood up, walked over to the microphone, and immediately began a delicate, and then eventually rocking, delivery of "Harpo."
This is a standard transaction at a Jonathan Richman performance. That's not to say that Jonathan strictly caters to his fans. Several songs later, someone asked as politely as the first request maker for "Dodge Veg-O-Matic." Jonathan smiled broadly, but shook his head before beginning "Fender Stratocaster" instead.
Without question, Jonathan's biggest assets as a performer are his honesty and sincerity. That's especially true for the latest stage of his career, largely defined by his string of releases since the late '80s on Rounder Records. Contrary to the first phase, which gave us Jonathan the proto-punk, or to the middle years, which saw him turn to child-like themes, this current period finds Jonathan examining ever more adult, and sometimes dark, subject matter.
Take his second number of the show, "Let Her Go Into the Darkness." With its title refrain cautioning against protection, and followed by the difficult advice to "Let her learn from all the things there," the song pricks the listener under the skin to explore very intimate, real life moral decisions. "To Hide a Little Thought," from the same album (last year's You Must Ask the Heart), delves into similar territory. Because of the honesty and intimacy of both Jonathan's writing and delivery, these songs have the potential to strike the listener's heart in darker places than the work of more sinister sounding bands such as Ministry or Korn. Indeed, Jonathan Richman has the skill to probe ethical dark sides as well as Springsteen did with his Tunnel of Love material, although Jonathan's explorations may be even scarier because his performances are more intimate and less dramatic than Bruce's.
Of course, Jonathan can rock out in his own way, too, as evidenced by his inclusion of songs like "Vampire Girl," "Fender Stratocaster," and "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar" at the TLA. Watching Jojo step away from the microphone to ditch his guitar, than shake his hips and belt lyrics a cappella, is one of the prime reasons to go to his shows.
And while Jonathan's long been known for traveling by himself, lately he's been bringing drummer Tommy Larkins on the road with him. Larkins, a master of understated and attentive playing, superbly complements Jonathan's presence. At the TLA, even his drum solo was subtle.
The pair's last song before a single encore was a tender new number called "Surrender." You'll be able to find it on Surrender To Jonathan, Jojo's upcoming release for Neil Young's Vapor label. If you've never caught Jonathan's show before, catch it now. And if you bone up on the Jojo songbook ahead of time, feel free to make polite requests. There's a good chance he'll indulge you.
-- Music News of the World Addicted to Noise 10 April 1996
That night was the first time Jonathan had been booked in the TLA, a former movie theater that holds 800 people standing, or 400 when temporary chairs are set up. Since Jojo used to play a Philly room that held just a hundred people, it must have seemed natural to arrange the TLA for its smaller, seated capacity.
It didn't, however, seem natural to Jonathan. "You see," he explained, "I need to see people dance,and you can't dance with all these chairs on the floor." Now, rock stars are known for encouraging people to rip up their seats, but Jonathan was politely asking for the management's permission to do so. "I'll help move 'em if you want. We can all pitch in, and stack 'em in an orderly fashion on the side. What do you say?" he asked the crowd. Five minutes later the floor was cleared, the chairs were stacked, and both Jojo and the audience were much happier.
When the Modern Lovers founder returned to the TLA on Tues. night (April 9), almost a year to the day from the collective chair-piling gig, the management made sure that the chairs were not set up. They know Jonathan now.
For his part, Jonathan seems to know his loyal audience wherever he goes. He certainly sensed that Philadelphians, aghast at a snowy evening this late in the year, would love nothing more than to see him to start the show with "That Summer Feeling."
Jonathan's onstage relationship with his fans rivals that of artists like Springsteen or the Grateful Dead, although his is on a much more intimate and human scale (in contrast to the dramatic, often larger than life, scale of Springsteen's shows, or to the communal nature of Dead concerts).
For example, three songs into the set, Jonathan knelt down at stage right to tune his guitar. Breaking the silence, someone a few feet back on the floor asked quite graciously, "Hey, Jonathan...?"
Jonathan: "Yeah?"
Fan: "Will you play 'When Harpo Played His Harp' sometime tonight?"
Jonathan: "OK."
When he was finished with his guitar, Jonathan stood up, walked over to the microphone, and immediately began a delicate, and then eventually rocking, delivery of "Harpo."
This is a standard transaction at a Jonathan Richman performance. That's not to say that Jonathan strictly caters to his fans. Several songs later, someone asked as politely as the first request maker for "Dodge Veg-O-Matic." Jonathan smiled broadly, but shook his head before beginning "Fender Stratocaster" instead.
Without question, Jonathan's biggest assets as a performer are his honesty and sincerity. That's especially true for the latest stage of his career, largely defined by his string of releases since the late '80s on Rounder Records. Contrary to the first phase, which gave us Jonathan the proto-punk, or to the middle years, which saw him turn to child-like themes, this current period finds Jonathan examining ever more adult, and sometimes dark, subject matter.
Take his second number of the show, "Let Her Go Into the Darkness." With its title refrain cautioning against protection, and followed by the difficult advice to "Let her learn from all the things there," the song pricks the listener under the skin to explore very intimate, real life moral decisions. "To Hide a Little Thought," from the same album (last year's You Must Ask the Heart), delves into similar territory. Because of the honesty and intimacy of both Jonathan's writing and delivery, these songs have the potential to strike the listener's heart in darker places than the work of more sinister sounding bands such as Ministry or Korn. Indeed, Jonathan Richman has the skill to probe ethical dark sides as well as Springsteen did with his Tunnel of Love material, although Jonathan's explorations may be even scarier because his performances are more intimate and less dramatic than Bruce's.
Of course, Jonathan can rock out in his own way, too, as evidenced by his inclusion of songs like "Vampire Girl," "Fender Stratocaster," and "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar" at the TLA. Watching Jojo step away from the microphone to ditch his guitar, than shake his hips and belt lyrics a cappella, is one of the prime reasons to go to his shows.
And while Jonathan's long been known for traveling by himself, lately he's been bringing drummer Tommy Larkins on the road with him. Larkins, a master of understated and attentive playing, superbly complements Jonathan's presence. At the TLA, even his drum solo was subtle.
The pair's last song before a single encore was a tender new number called "Surrender." You'll be able to find it on Surrender To Jonathan, Jojo's upcoming release for Neil Young's Vapor label. If you've never caught Jonathan's show before, catch it now. And if you bone up on the Jojo songbook ahead of time, feel free to make polite requests. There's a good chance he'll indulge you.
-- Music News of the World Addicted to Noise 10 April 1996
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Jonathan Richman: Hopeless romantic
Michael Felci
The Desert Sun
February 12, 2005
Since the inception of the original Modern Lovers in the early '70s, songwriter/frontman/guitarist/mastermind Jonathan Richman has enjoyed a unique status as unlikely proto-punk pioneer.
Yet at his innermost core, the former Velvet Underground devotee has remained a hopeless romantic (not unlike Rimbaud) who's precious music refuses to be bound by the popular trends of the day.
All of Richman's legendary eccentricities were on proud display Thursday at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown, as he (and an accompanying drummer) doused the appreciative crowd with a canon of classics - all done, of course, in the key of Richman.
Sounding like a stripped-down acoustic version of the White Stripes, the duo opened with a strange spiritual hymn, titled "He Gave Us The Wine to Taste."
Repetitive and sparse, the song's instrumental breaks provided an opportunity for Richman to showcase his more than capable rhythm guitar sensibilities.
The pair then slipped effortlessly into "Pablo Picasso," a fan favorite since the early days of the Modern Lovers back in Massachusetts.
Chronicling the Spanish painter's unparalleled luck with ladies, the track beamed with nonsensical lines like, "Though he was only 5 feet 3, girls could not resist his stare... Pablo Picasso never got called a..."
Shaking wildly, face contorted and fingers moving fast as ever, Richman then moved onto elongated versions of "I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar" and "Let Her Go" before tackling several cuts from his 1993 Spanish-language album, "Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!"
Finally and perhaps strangest (which is saying something) was "Give Paris One More Chance," in which the spastic singer recalls only enjoying the city of love the second time around. (No word yet on whether the the French Bureau of Tourism plans on using the track as part any advertising campaigns.)
Conspicuously absent from the set were more well-known numbers like "Ice Cream Man" and the seminal pop-punk classic "Roadrunner."
However, when it was all sung and done, the people had gotten what they wanted - the real Jonathan Richman.
--
Thanks to Adam for this!
The Desert Sun
February 12, 2005
Since the inception of the original Modern Lovers in the early '70s, songwriter/frontman/guitarist/mastermind Jonathan Richman has enjoyed a unique status as unlikely proto-punk pioneer.
Yet at his innermost core, the former Velvet Underground devotee has remained a hopeless romantic (not unlike Rimbaud) who's precious music refuses to be bound by the popular trends of the day.
All of Richman's legendary eccentricities were on proud display Thursday at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown, as he (and an accompanying drummer) doused the appreciative crowd with a canon of classics - all done, of course, in the key of Richman.
Sounding like a stripped-down acoustic version of the White Stripes, the duo opened with a strange spiritual hymn, titled "He Gave Us The Wine to Taste."
Repetitive and sparse, the song's instrumental breaks provided an opportunity for Richman to showcase his more than capable rhythm guitar sensibilities.
The pair then slipped effortlessly into "Pablo Picasso," a fan favorite since the early days of the Modern Lovers back in Massachusetts.
Chronicling the Spanish painter's unparalleled luck with ladies, the track beamed with nonsensical lines like, "Though he was only 5 feet 3, girls could not resist his stare... Pablo Picasso never got called a..."
Shaking wildly, face contorted and fingers moving fast as ever, Richman then moved onto elongated versions of "I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar" and "Let Her Go" before tackling several cuts from his 1993 Spanish-language album, "Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!"
Finally and perhaps strangest (which is saying something) was "Give Paris One More Chance," in which the spastic singer recalls only enjoying the city of love the second time around. (No word yet on whether the the French Bureau of Tourism plans on using the track as part any advertising campaigns.)
Conspicuously absent from the set were more well-known numbers like "Ice Cream Man" and the seminal pop-punk classic "Roadrunner."
However, when it was all sung and done, the people had gotten what they wanted - the real Jonathan Richman.
--
Thanks to Adam for this!
