By: Ryan Ruff Smith
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| Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley - Photo by Kathy Cosmano |
The show got underway with an energetic set of canny garage rock from Grand Ole Party, whose first album was produced by Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennett. Kristin Gundred doubled as the lead singer and the drummer, and managed both duties ably. Her voice recalled the old-timey sounds of ragtime as much as it did rock ’n’ roll, which lent the material an idiosyncratic timelessness. The band was very much focused on their sound, though, and the songs themselves were a bit too similar for any of them to stand out.
Next up was singer/songwriter Jonathan Rice, who is something of a Jenny Lewis protégé. Unfortunately, his songs were pleasant at best. He and his band sounded very professional, and he had a nice timbre to his voice, but his country-tinged folk rock was sanded down so smoothly that there was no substance left. I waited through the whole set for a memorable hook, or even an interesting chord change, but nothing was delivered.
Rice’s acute lack of catchiness made Rilo Kiley’s entrance all the more welcome. They were greeted enthusiastically by the sold-out First Avenue crowd and wasted little time launching into “It’s a Hit” off of their 2004 album More Adventurous, a song that cleverly contemplates the irony of songwriters putting their pain and heartache into catchy, moneymaking singles. It was an appropriate way for the band to start, poised as they are between a devoted cult following and a broader audience. Lewis’s stage presence was undeniable from the beginning, as she effortlessly worked the crowd. However, Sennett made his presence as a band leader clear as well, as he handled most of the banter between songs. His geek chic enthusiasm proved a nice foil to Jenny’s playful coquettishness.
The band dipped their toes into the Blacklight for the first time on “Close Call,” a song which doesn’t really stand out on the record but was amped up live by Lewis’s powerful vocals. “Portions for Foxes” from More Adventurous was an early highlight and foreshadowed the themes of Under the Blacklight (basically sex) as it showed off Sennett’s talents as a very melodic guitarist.
After delivering another old favorite, “Paint’s Peeling,” the band focused more steadily on the new material. “Breaking Up” is perhaps the happiest break up song ever written and a prime example of Lewis applying her sense of melody to a new style. The effervescent chorus of, “Ooh! /It / Feels good to be free!” is an almost laughable understatement compared to her usually wordier lyrics, but its 80’s pop song hummability makes it undeniably infectious. Lewis was also working her charming frontwoman powers, rocking a cowbell with more enthusiasm than Will Ferrell.
Lead single “The Moneymaker,” left me a bit cold, though. Its slinky, interweaving guitar riffs and stadium-sized chorus certainly got heads bobbing in the crowd, but it is devoid of the warmth that gives most Rilo Kiley songs their unique personality. Sennett’s “Dreamworld” didn’t fair a whole lot better; though it is interesting to hear them exploring new territory, the song’s sleepy-eyed lull is so light that it almost floats away.
The soulful mid-tempo “Silver Lining” is one of the new album’s shining moments (aside from the fact that the main guitar riff is lifted more or less directly from George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”), and Lewis delivered one of her most powerful vocals of the night. “15” is a successful stab at southern blue-eyed soul, and tells a surprisingly unsettling story of, well, statutory rape. Sennett’s introduction of the song betrayed the band’s ambivalence towards their chosen subject matter. He started off by saying “This is a terrible song about terrible people,” but later revised his statement to refer to them instead as “lonely people.” And the writing seems equally confused – are they condemning the sordid underbelly of society, or sympathizing with them? Is it possible to do some of each? “Smoke Detector,” on the other hand, actually succeeds at being seedy and sexy at the same time, and is as such perhaps the most successful song of the new batch.
The old material continued to provide the most memorable highlights, though. “Wires and Waves” was a welcome inclusion from the band’s debut LP Takeoffs and Landings and a nice detour into the charming persona and understated melodicism of the band’s earlier incarnation. Sennett pulled out a ukulele to perform “Ripchord” from More Adventurous and delivered his most memorable vocal performance. He then strapped on an acoustic guitar and was joined by Lewis for a rousing sing-along of 2002’s “With Arms Outstretched.” Lewis asserted her vocal prowess most convincingly on “I Never,” a soulful scorcher from More Adventurous.
Puzzlingly, the show took a turn for the worse during the last few songs. Sennett took lead on a song that the band has never released, and it simply didn’t stick. The band closed with the epic “Spectacular Views” from The Execution of All Things. The song bears more than a passing resemblance to “Portions for Foxes” (though it is the older of the two) and found Lewis awkwardly positioned towards the back of the stage at a keyboard while Sennett upstaged her with some guitar heroics. The band’s playing was impressive, but the jam got a bit long-winded and couldn’t quite pick up the momentum it needed to be a great closer.
They came back, of course, for a solid encore that found Lewis back in the spotlight. They started with “Give a Little Love,” the closing track from the new album. It is an undeniably catchy tune, arriving just ten years too late to be a huge hit on mid-90’s radio. They then sent us off with “Does He Love You?,” a complex interweaving narrative about a forlorn love triangle. Sennett’s guitar and Lewis’s vocals both had plenty of room to soar, and it served as a democratic closer that highlighted both of their considerable talents.
In the end, the question of whether Rilo Kiley are on the brink of stardom seemed a bit irrelevant. By the looks of things, they are already there – if playing a sold-out show to an enthusiastic audience of all ages doesn’t give a band star status, I’m not sure what does. They have always been a pop group, and as long as they continue to release such a high number of genuinely catchy pop songs (even if there are a few duds along the way), they are sure to only attract more and more fans. Though originality is valued more and more in upcoming bands, Rilo Kiley are living proof that talent and craft are all a band really needs to get noticed, and they always will be.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Grand Ole Party, Jonathan Rice, Rilo Kiley
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