fantastic voyage

Night 2! As Mike said, it's almost a festival! I had no choice but to hit both nights.

Jon Brion, Largo at the Coronet, November 8, 2025

We were welcomed by the same setup tonight: the piano, with all of its accessories, and some guitars. Once again, Jon the professor took the stage. After settling in with a late pint of Guinness, he opened on the piano of course. I had no idea what the composition could be, but as it turned out, Jon was in a didactic mood tonight. At the end of the 15-minute (maybe 20) performance, he told us it was Aaron Copland's "Our Town."

Jon followed up with two of his works, the unreleased "Trial and Error" and the theme from Ladybird. I have to admit I didn't recognize the second one, though I knew it was a soundtrack track. As Jon was feeling talkative, he told us exactly what he played. I've since become familiar with a specific riff in the song, and it's become a regular part of his playlist.

He asked for requests and granted a suggestion for David Bowie. I don't recall if someone asked specifically for "Fantastic Voyage" because -- let's face it -- how many people know that song? Jon himself forgot some of the lyrics, but no one was holding it against him.

From there, we got a block of Jon's original tracks. "Same Mistakes" had a long instrumental intro on that bionic piano for a twist, and "The Girl I Knew" stumped even me for a little bit with the reimagined introduction.

I can't recall if Jon asked for requests or someone yelled it out, but we got the timeless "More Than This." For as many times as I've heard Jon perform this song, he coaxed out even more notes that I didn't know existed in the song. I'll take 10 of those every time.

Jon also went into George Harrison, but "Someone to Watch Over Me" was the magnum opus, which is often the case at Largo. It went all over the place, as is Jon's wont, and when you thought he'd wrung every note out of it, he came back with a new riff. But that's just a Friday at Largo.

For the encore, Jon threatened to play "atonal 20-minute versions" of selected songs, and to start, he went with a soundtrack title. I think it was something from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I can't confirm.

But in a twist, Jon consulted with his tech and revealed to us that he had a message from Andrew McPherson, the inventor of Jon's new favorite instrument. Andrew was on the other end of the FaceTime as he listened and watched the performance. Jon also informed us that the piano was the only one of its kind in the United States.

Jon closed with a mostly straightforward version of "Knock Yourself Out," but took advantage of the magnets in the piano on a couple of passages. For all of the twists and turns in his shows, it's no surprise that he comes back to his classics.

Setlist
piano
Trial and Error
Theme from Ladybird
Fantastic Voyage
Same Mistakes
Love of My Life So Far
The Girl I Knew
You Made the Girl
More Than This
Isn't It a Pity
Someone to Watch Over Me

Encore
soundtrack song?
Knock Yourself Out

the man who invented himself

Happy 2026! This blog has a reason to exist again, and pardon the delay, but I'm back on the clock (when possible). Without further ado, Jon Brion!

Jon Brion, Largo at the Coronet, November 7, 2025

The date showed up out of nowhere, and I didn't need to be asked twice. If I recall correctly, Jon's last show took place in June 2024, but I was at Wilco's every-other-year Solid Sound Festival. You can't attend them all, but I had no idea Jon wouldn't be back for 16 months. Reminder: Go see your favorite artists whenever you can. There's no guarantee you'll get another opportunity.

Flanny of course did the introduction, showing off his Dodgers t-shirt. (No comment.) Jon looked like a professor when he made his entrance, with a soft bucket hat on his head, a loose scarf around his neck, and a leather bookbag slung over his shoulder. School was in session.

You couldn't miss the Steinway baby grand parked center stage or the numerous mics strategically positioned on and around the instrument. Jon also had a small array of guitars at his disposal, but none of the other gear that he's known for -- not even the drums. Anyone who comes to Jon's show knows to expect the unexpected, and without touching a key, he instantly checked that box.

Fom the first note, we knew we were listening to something different. It's hard enough for me to describe Jon's music, especially the instrumentals, but you'll have to bear with me. All I can say is that Jon played the piano and checked a MacBook to his left. As an audience member, I heard both the piano, but also a synth undertone and a slight dissonance behind the main notes. In his usual fashion, Jon opened with a roughly 20-minute instrumental exercise that I won't attempt to guess.

He did end the tune with some background on the bionic piano. He said playing it was like having 88 EBows on piano and credited Andrew McPherson for his innovation, which he jokingly referred to as "a bunch of magnets." He's not lying, but you can investigate for yourself on his website.

Overall, I took very few notes about the actual sound because I lack the vocabulary or the musical knowledge to do it justice. In many ways, the songs were deeper than what you'd expect from, in essence, a singular piano. At times, it sounded like a string orchestra but maybe fed through a filter.

Jon immediately asked for a request, but warned that "it's gonna come back moody." He opted for his classic "Same Thing," which is always a great start to the pop portion of the night. He continued with his own soundtrack songs. I identified one as "Strangest Times" from I Heart Huckabees, but I have to admit that I couldn't place the other one. It might've been from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but no guarantees.

Jon next treated us to Robyn Hitchcock rock block with the sublime "Queen Elvis," followed by "The Man Who Invented Himself." For the latter, he drew from a large binder of lyrics, and to the best of my knowledge, he used no effects. He also told a story about going to a record store around the time of the album's release and the record store employee introducing him to the record -- a rite of passage that any vinyl fan can relate to.

He returned to one of his original songs (not one of my favorites, I have to admit), then what I think was "'Round Midnight," which I mostly recognize because it goes on for a long time. I'm half-kidding; I've heard Jon perform this song enough times that I can pick out an arc or two.

Jon played an extended intro as he welcomed Grant Lee Phillips to the stage. Grant, in case you've forgotten, was one of the main people who helped establish Largo on Fairfax, and he and Jon are always a must-watch combination. I've written about them at length!

Grant was in town for a show at McCabe's the next night, and the crowd at Largo greeted him warmly. To be honest, I can't remember why Jon stretched out the piano prelude. Maybe Grant was looking for a guitar? I recall that Grant briefly grabbed an acoustic, but he quickly abandoned it. In fact, it took him a little while to realize that Jon was playing one of Grant's own tunes -- the sublime "Fuzzy" from the first Grant Lee Buffalo record -- and even asked Jon to confirm the song choice. (Meanwhile, I had been squirming in my seat for several minutes as I waited for them to kick off the performance of a track I've loved for a long time.)

Make no mistake -- Jon nailed this song, but he also gave Grant enough room to improvise with pace, crescendos, and other flourishes. Grant Lee Buffalo was one of my favorites in the '90s, and the song is still a gem.

Jon next started on another favorite, Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes," and yelled at Grant to come back to the stage to handle the vocals. We'll always take more Grant!

After Grant left the stage, Jon hit a couple of soundtrack songs, but I can't tell you which. I suspect one of them was the Lady Bird theme, which has become one of Jon's recent favorites.

Jon took out the big book of lyrics again and paired his choice of a song with a Sondheim-like arrangement. The tune: "Anarchy in the UK," by the Sex Pistols. If you think about it for a minute or two, I bet you can get the gist in your brain. From there, he went into a straightforward rendition of a Cole Porter title to continue the theme.

He followed up with "Trouble" on the piano, then headed over to the guitars for the first time that night. Alas, the diversion was short-lived, as none of them were up to snuff. He returned to the piano and asked for requests, resulting in "I Believe She's Lying."

Jon closed out the encore with another two of his originals. And we still had one more night to look forward to.

Setlist
piano
Same Thing
Strangest Times
soundtrack song?
Queen Elvis
The Man Who Invented Himself
That's What People Do
Round Midnight

with Grant-Lee Phillips
Fuzzy
Ashes to Ashes

Eternal Sunshine theme
soundtrack song?
Anarchy in the UK
I Concentrate on You
Trouble
I Believe She's Lying

Encore
Ruin My Day
The Way It Went

Related shows
» top 5 Largo memories
» Take Me Home, Country Pigeon
» i'm happy, hope you're happy too

within you and without you

In case it wasn't already apparent, this is an exclusively Jon Brion blog now. With that, here's the January report. Also, I need to stay closer to home for a little bit, so someone else will have to supply the February details.

Jon Brion, Largo at the Coronet, January 11, 2024

I originally bought tickets to this gig when it was simply a Jon Brion show, but Largo updated the description to say Jon would be playing new music with Jay Bellerose and Jennifer Condos. I had a million questions following the change. First of all, what new music? Also, I was familiar with Jay Bellerose from his previous visits at Largo on Fairfax, including the time they covered "Band on the Run," per my request. After asking around, I learned that Jennifer Condos is Jay's wife, and among other achievements, they've formed Joe Henry's backing band for several years. I also learned that the trio had been working on Jon's new music (that is, unreleased tracks he's written since Meaningless). I still had no idea what to expect, but I was excited to find out.

The stage was well-equipped, but not with the usual array of artifacts, as with Jon's traditional show. Jennifer had a simple setup near the piano, and Jay's drum kit included a big copper kettle. There was one unusual-looking guitar that went untouched all night. Otherwise, Jon took up the other side of the stage with a couple of guitar racks and a slide guitar.

It quickly became apparent that this wouldn't be the easiest show to document, but I'll try my best, using the same format as I did with the Jon Brion/Nels Cline improv shows back in the day. Follow along!

Song 1: All I have here is that Jon played an electric guitar, and Jay watched him closely for cues. At points, Jay used brushes and his hands, but my main observation was that there were no vocal mics onstage. That is, they probably could've converted a couple of mics for voice purposes if needed, but not even the trusty piano had a vocal option. They plugged away wordlessly.

In a typical Jon show, this might've led me to wonder if they were going to improv all night, but I didn't get that feeling from this first track. This wasn't about mad scientist mode, though it was probably a glimpse into studio life. I knew intrinsically that chaos wasn't in the cards this evening.

Song 2: Maybe that hunch was borne out in the second song, which I recognized right away from my longtime attendance at Jon's shows. It was none other than his track "Croatia," which I used to yell out as a request when I sensed a show was becoming too maudlin and we needed a pick-me-up. I especially enjoyed the performances of this song with him and Chris Thile. Also, I've since visited Croatia since I first heard the track, so consider this a humble brag. Jon went to town on the guitar, and the bond between him and Jay deepened.

Song 3: I don't have much for this song, except for surf-ish guitar and an outro that reminded me a little of "Walking Through Walls." I'm not going to lie -- at this point, I realized we weren't getting much in the way of lyrics, so I put the pen down for long stretches of the performance.

Song 4: With this tune, Jon said "not all of these songs have titles yet," which confirmed all I needed to know. I should also mention he had a notebook or a clipboard onstage and referred to it between songs. That's what I mean by the lack of chaos. My only other note here is that they played this song at a languid pace. Make of that what you will.

Song 5: Jon picked up a six-string bass and said this "can mean only 1 thing -- Cole Porter [something] mambo." (Sorry, I can't read my handwriting.) Jay opened with a steady beat, not unlike a Johnny Cash train song, but they eventually brought it around to "Anything Goes." My first memory of the song goes back to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which goes to show you how music can hit you from anywhere. If that's what it takes to bring Cole Porter into our lives, so be it.

Song 6: Jon went to the piano, and I recognized the song immediately. It was "Punch Drunk Tack Piano," which is not only from the Paul Thomas Anderson movie, but also the old Largo website. The tune was the first thing you heard as soon as you landed on the page. Talk about indelible memories.

Song 7: Jon returned to the guitar rack and picked up a small electric. I think he said "Perky Hell" might be the song title or at least a temporary name. I'll say that this was a lovely tune that exemplified what he once called "unpopular pop." The song proceeded at a steady pace, and you could kind of hear where the verses and choruses might come in.

Song 8: Jon switched guitars and the crowd roared approval for the red-and-black Sith-pattern model he picked up. He also turned on one of the amps near the piano and said something to the effect of "if we're going to do big band songs, they have to be psych drum anthems." He also said this was for Flanny. That probably indicates it might've been a Duke Ellington classic or something along those lines, but I can't say. I will note that with the simple action of tapping her leg with the bass on it, Jennifer punctuated parts of the song with a cool reverb on the bass.

Song 9: My notes are simple in that the trio delivered a delicate, understated tune that could be track 3 on Side B of a record. At the end, Jon blew a kiss to Jennifer for her contributions.

Song 10: I took minimal notes on this, namely that the intro reminded me of the Beatles' "Sun King," the guitar was phenomenal, and Jon showcased his immense talent. Based on Largo's Instagram post, I think this was "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac. In fact, I've heard Jon play this several times, but it's been a while. Regardless, it's a stunning composition!

Song 11: Jon checked the notebook before starting the song and commented that it was going to be in E minor and slow and that it desperately needs a title. I noticed strong bass and a smokey, noirish feel. Alas, I can't tell you much more.

Song 12: Jon finally sat down at the slide guitar and positioned the microphone for the first vocals of the night. He said he wanted something with "hip-hop New Orleans country blues," and after some Googling, I've determined that they played "Midnight" by Red Foley. I don't know what the other versions sounded like, but my guess is Jay and Jennifer added a lot to that swampy mix Jon requested. Jon contributed too with gorgeous and at times confusing guitar.

Song 13: For the encore, Jon asked the audience to name a key (which I failed to write down). Jon next asked Jay to provide a tempo, and he created a staccato beat, a series of short beats leading into each other. Jennifer backed him up, as Jon grabbed one of his hollow-body guitars. As with the Cole Porter song, they meandered musically before eventually landing on "Within You, Without You," and this most resembled Jon's traditional gigs. They went all over the place with this track, as is Jon's wont. On a night where we traveled to several places we hadn't been to before, it was the perfect landing spot.

Related shows
» the first one said to the second one there
» round midnight
» like a dream in the night
» i go for it every time
» the world will revolve