Words/photos by Paul D Goodman.
Josh Ritter headlined the sold out 9:30 Club Tuesday night, playing to a room packed to the gills with adoring fans.
Opening for Ritter was The Low Anthem and I imagine the band won a few Ritter fans over in the process. Fresh off a European tour and bound for Europe once again in January, the four-person group from Providence plays a blend of Americana-ish alt-country, blues, folk rock, and everything in between. Before getting to that, though, they opened the night with a few quiet pieces. They leant heavily on the strength of lead Ben Knox Miller’s subtle vocals and the haunting tones emanating from Jocie Adams’ crotales. These quiet songs – Charlie Darwin, the Ballad of Broken Bones, Ticket Taker – had me thinking about walking through a quiet town on a warm fall day, hearing live music coming from an alley around the bend. You can almost hear it clearly, but the music seems to float by. Many of the Low Anthem’s tunes have a cinematic quality to them and when the band got warmed up, plenty of other images came to mind.
I had a few minutes with the band before the show and sat in on an interview with the City Paper. If you’re a fan, see that interview for stories from their European travels and anecdotes about writing on the road.
Every member of the band plays more than one instrument – on “This God Damn House”, I was surprised to see two clarinets in action, but then Miller took it a step further, using two cell phones to cleverly loop his whistling. After almost each song everyone rotated around – from crotales to bass, from pump organ to drums, from guitar to harmonica, from harmonica to horn, and back again. The stage wasn’t quite big enough to accommodate all the rearranging, but most of the transitions were graceful and the range of each musician was impressive.
While covering Blind Willie McTell’s “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around”, Miller’s voice went to gravel and Adams’ went to Joplin, blasting through the tune and winning the crowd’s applause well before the song finished. Jeff Prystowsky’s solo on the upright bass was particularly strong.
The crowd came for Ritter, though – including a father and daughter next to me in the front row. They drove three hours for the show and confessed that this was their fifth Ritter show. Google him and you’ll find plenty of references to underappreciated talent and a number of comparisons to Dylan and Springsteen. Ritter’s stage presence is a bit goofy but his unbridled energy shines bright and I felt like it permeated the jammed club.
The crowd revealed itself on “Kathleen”, a tune from Ritter’s collection of love songs. As Ritter stepped up to the mic, one strum on his guitar was all it took for the crowd to knowingly applaud. One breath and they were singing with him: “All the other girls here are stars – you are the Northern Lights”. And as I looked around, it seemed that everyone in the club’s lips were moving – young women, young men, older women, older men.
Ritter had plenty to say to the crowd, telling a funny story about riding the Fung Wah Chinatown bus from NYC, expressing his appreciation for everyone working in government, wishing his quirky bassist a happy birthday (the crowd then began an unsolicited rendition of “Happy Birthday”), joking about the end of the world (he’s trying to finish his new album before April 2010), and dedicating a love song to Liz Cheney. Near the end of the show, the crowd -- encouraged by Ritter -- sang the lyrics of "Empty Hearts" to the crowd on the balcony, and vice versa.
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
- 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
- 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
- 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
- 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
- 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
- 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
- 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
God loves a cheerful giver.
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