milky pristine

It's not lost on me that I've traveled, in essence, two paths for concerts so far this year. It's only going to get worse, I warn you, but if that's not a problem, then tune in for the Mikael Jorgensen/Pronto review below--not to mention all those yet to come.

Mikael Jorgensen, Make-Out Room, April 30, 2009: Depending on your outlook, Wilco either makes it easy to be a fan or they give us hell. The constant touring, the numerous side projects, the endless collaborations, the solo turns--you can go crazy (and poor) chasing down every note of music that these off-shoots put out, or the hobby can keep you occupied for a long time. Or both.

There's little doubt I lean more toward the second option, but sometimes, being that overly eager fan is easy, especially when the most difficult part of an otherwise laid-back night with friends is enduring the opening act. Then again, that first act was probably more amusing than arduous. Seriously, how did his hat stay on?

Most people probably know Mike in only his role as Wilco's keyboardist and erstwhile "laptop guy," but it was more than a year ago--maybe even two?--on a trip to Chicago that Kris handed out CD-Rs of the Pronto record off a spool; I believe he called them "party favors." I've been looking forward to hearing the songs in a live setting ever since. It took a while, but Mike finally made it out to the West Coast to support those tunes himself.

Even if you know Pronto's music, it's worth it to hear Mike break it down further. Tonight, on his own, he took the album's warm, vintage-y vibe and translated it to solo acoustic guitar. I suppose it wouldn't be too surprising if I told you that the riffs came through loud and clear in this setting, showing off some unexpectedly rawk touches. Another nice touch was Mike's confident air; he held his own in the buzzing bar, even managing to warn us about the other band named Pronto on iTunes.



It looks like it's going to be a busy year for Mike, what with Wilco getting ready to launch a new album in the next month or so. Who knows when Pronto will be around again? I'm willing to find out what the future holds for them, though.

See also:
» i see my light come shining
» spider wisdom
» with songs about things we all know

jonathan, why so heavy on the latin?

Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't have gone to this show, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reciprocate Evonne's endless generosity, see Maudie, and report back to Andrew. Besides, it's been far too long since I've gone to the fabulous Make-Out Room.

Jonathan Richman, The Make-Out Room, October 1, 2006: As visitors to my apartment can tell you, the price of crashing on my couch is enduring my parade of concert posters and, in some cases, setlists. (If you hold the debatable honor of having been born around the same time as me and sharing a history of Anglophilia, you're also required to feign interest in my Star Hits collection, but that's another story.)

And that's exactly what I put Evonne through before I realized how many times I've seen Jonathan Richman live. Of course, there was last month's show, and I'll always remember the string of dates with Wilco in 2001. But I had completely forgotten about the opening slots for Belle & Sebastian (also in 2001). By that count, I guess I've seen Jonathan Richman at least half a dozen times now.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a great time, and it was easily the best Jonathan Richman show I've seen. I think it had something to do with the fact that he was the headliner and not the opener, so my attention was squarely on JoJo and Tommy. But everything was just right: the crowd, the club, the pacing of the show. JoJo himself wasn't as talkative as usual, owing to a callous on his vocal cords, but he was, as ever, engaging and, of course, dancing. He did a mix of old and new songs, and I actually recognized a few (errr, the Something About Mary tunes, anyway). I'll probably never be a JoJo faithful, but this evening, I totally got it.

See also:
» a verse, then a verse, and refrain