Best part of posting in the online world? For me, sharing perspective, followed by giving shout-outs to friends and people I admire, to spread the word. In that regard, here’s a snap and a nod to Jonathan Richman (w/Tommy Larkins) from their recent gig at the Blue Room in Nashville. People were insanely polite and only pulled out the phones at the very end.
Anyways, Jonathan was fantastic, per usual, a true genius at work. Opened with one of my faves, “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar” and played two of my other faves, “That Summer Feeling” and “When We Refuse to Suffer”. Lots of great new material from his new album, “Want to Visit my Inner House,” as well. And last but not least, the epic, “Everybody Loves Dolly”, appropo for the Music City.
Every time I see him, live, it’s like witnessing a master class in how to command an audience. Just Jonathan on a nylon stringed acoustic, miked, with hardly any effects, while Tommy keeps the beat on a conga drum. And yet, he rocks, swings, makes people laugh and makes people think, with the unique quality to be serious and silly at the same time in his songs and his presence. Deceptively simple, you don’t see the wires. Always a treat, always joyful, the night ending with a sold-out house following him to the land of zen, singing “it is what it is what it is…cold pizza.”
Doug Hoekstra 