Jenny Lewis at Stubb's
Erik Adams
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For fans who came to the alternately sweet-and-sour voice of Jenny Lewis through the early works of her band Rilo Kiley, the last couple of years have been a constant game of denial and barely met expectations. On the heels of Lewis' spare, folk-and-country influenced solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, Rilo Kiley released Under The Blacklight, a slick collection of pop songs produced by Mike "Dr. Dre Sent Me" Elizondo. There's nothing wrong with band changing directions, there's nothing wrong with pop songs, and there's nothing wrong with Elizondo's style. (After all, this is the dude who managed to shape Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine into something Epic Records was willing to release, though his version still pales in comparison to Jon Brion's.) But everything is wrong with Lewis singing songs that are out of her range and writing lyrics like, "There is a girl in a tank top / she is not wearin' a bra / she looks so hot on the dance floor." But new Rilo Kiley material in 2007 is better than no Rilo Kiley material in 2007, right? (Well... Not if it's "Dejalo.")
In light of Under The Blacklight, the news that Lewis had decamped to L.A.'s Sound City Studios to record a quick-and-dirty follow-up to Rabbit Fur Coat came as a relief. And while the crackling, road-tested energy of "Jack Killed Mom" and "See Fernando" captured the feel of a raucous party in Laurel Canyon, Acid Tongue's highlight remains its title track, where Lewis returns to the confessional box (or not, as she later told the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot) for one last soulful outpouring of sins. "Acid Tongue" also provided one of the highlights of Lewis' performance at Stubb's: Standing solo at stage right, she strummed her guitar and sang about lying and dropping acid, with her backing band gathered in a huddle at stage left and providing harmonies. Turns out the song's chorus was wrong: If nobody helped a liar, then Lewis would have done the whole show solo—in fact, she probably wouldn't have done the show at all.
Erik AdamsBy the time Lewis' current tour wraps up at England's V Festival, Lewis will have been promoting Acid Tongue for over a year, an oddly long period of time for a record that began as a way for Lewis to blow off some post-Blacklight steam. It's probably not too far off the mark to say that she's trying to keep the spirit of the Acid Tongue sessions alive for as long as possible. The Jenny Lewis who appeared at Stubb's last night was far different from the one who played the venue with Rilo Kiley in October 2007. Gone was the "fake pop star" strut from that period, replaced by an unbridled enthusiasm that had her kicking her way through "See Fernando." Lewis definitely feeds off the energy provided by her current band (and it helps that her relationship with guitarist-boyfriend Johnathan Rice seems to still be on-track), especially drummer Barbara Gruska and multi-instrumentalist Danielle Haim, who may not give "Rise Up With Fists!!" the same depth as The Watson Twins, but those twin towers of country harmonizing probably couldn't give "Born Secular" (and, as it was the closing number, the show) the propulsive double-drum send-off that Gruska and Haim did.
Gruska's drums were key to the two new songs that made their way into the set list: "Just Like Zeus" and "Big Wave." It's hard to tell who these songs belong to: They're a return to the indie-pop sound of Rilo Kiley's first three records, but they could also easily signal a new (if not more comfortable) direction for Lewis' solo career. No matter who ends up recording "Just Like Zeus" and "Big Wave," they best make sure that the guttural low end of Lewis' vocal range reprises the cameos it made during the songs on Monday night.
In all, it was hard not to judge this show by what it wasn't: The new songs may sound like it, but they weren't played by Rilo Kiley circa 2002. Gruska and Haim are not The Watson Twins. The Traveling Wilburys cover "Handle With Care" wasn't performed by the Wilburys or the indie-rock supergroup equivalent (Ben Gibbard, Conor Oberst, and M. Ward) that fleshed out the version appearing on Rabbit Fur Coat. Thankfully, Acid Tongue Lewis showed up and not Under The Blacklight Lewis. By the time official versions of "Just Like Zeus" and "Big Wave" are released, there will be Jenny Lewis fans whose first exposure to the singer-songwriter was Acid Tongue, and they might bristle at this new direction. A suggestion for them: Deny that you're disappointed, prepare to be disappointed, or roll with it to see what comes next. Lewis still has some surprises left in her.
Set list:
"See Fernando"
"The Charging Sky"
"You Are What You Love"
"Pretty Bird"
"Carpetbaggers"
"Jack Killed Mom"
"Trying My Best To Love You"
"Silver Lining" (Lewis solo)
"Happy"
"Rise Up With Fists!!"
"Just Like Zeus" (new song)
"Handle With Care"
"The Next Messiah"
Encore:
"Acid Tongue"
"Big Wave" (new song)
"Born Secular"
