"In this bar, things were laissez-faire!"
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Jonathan Richman(Marilyn's, Sacramento CA, 12/16/2006)
Richman performed with his trusty sidekick, the drummer Tommy Larkins, to an audience of about 120. If you haven't caught him live before, I'm not sure I can describe it to you briefly. If you have, this was business as usual. Not quite as good a show as I saw a few years ago, but his little improv, dance, and percussion bits were reliably entertaining and the "official" lyrics were interspersed with funny tales in English, French, Italian, or Spanish, especially on "Let Her Go Into The Darkness". Other highlights included "Springtime In New York" ("when demolishing a building brings the smell of 1890 to the breeze"), "Surrender," and nice versions of "Old World" and "Pablo Picasso" (although I would have preferred "Dignified And Old" from the Modern Lovers material). Although Richman is always entertaining and he avoids being cloying because he's so sincere in speaking from the heart, and although it's still true that no one else sounds quite like him, seeing him is also a little sad. If you didn't guess from his slightly unhinged stage presence, at least his taut face and the faraway look in his eyes tell you that his 55 years of life haven't been all peaches and cream. We were sent off with "The Night Is Still Young"--as it was. Sadly we didn't get "To Hide A Little Thought" or "Vampire Girl". Nor did we get "Dancing In The Lesbian Bar" ("In the first bar, things were stop and stare. In this bar, things were laissez-faire"), so here's a live video that gives you a good sense of what I missed:
Richman performed with his trusty sidekick, the drummer Tommy Larkins, to an audience of about 120. If you haven't caught him live before, I'm not sure I can describe it to you briefly. If you have, this was business as usual. Not quite as good a show as I saw a few years ago, but his little improv, dance, and percussion bits were reliably entertaining and the "official" lyrics were interspersed with funny tales in English, French, Italian, or Spanish, especially on "Let Her Go Into The Darkness". Other highlights included "Springtime In New York" ("when demolishing a building brings the smell of 1890 to the breeze"), "Surrender," and nice versions of "Old World" and "Pablo Picasso" (although I would have preferred "Dignified And Old" from the Modern Lovers material). Although Richman is always entertaining and he avoids being cloying because he's so sincere in speaking from the heart, and although it's still true that no one else sounds quite like him, seeing him is also a little sad. If you didn't guess from his slightly unhinged stage presence, at least his taut face and the faraway look in his eyes tell you that his 55 years of life haven't been all peaches and cream. We were sent off with "The Night Is Still Young"--as it was. Sadly we didn't get "To Hide A Little Thought" or "Vampire Girl". Nor did we get "Dancing In The Lesbian Bar" ("In the first bar, things were stop and stare. In this bar, things were laissez-faire"), so here's a live video that gives you a good sense of what I missed:
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