Austin ModHouse

one of our favorite live acts comes every winter, Jonathan Richman.  this year he played two shows at the hole in the wall and two at the continental club.  we caught both the first and last shows. 

wednesday night had us at the Hole in the wall. 

a good live music experience is not possible seated at the back of a stadium.  it works best when you are as close as possible to the musician.  I don't mind going early and claiming good real estate. 

yeah, we were that close.

many people just can't stand jonathan.  susan castle (local radio personality) once asked me if she could play something for me.  I requested "I was dancing in a lesbian bar, by jonathan richman".  she grimaced and apologized, she went on to explain that she has never received so many complaints as the time she played him on the radio.  an acquired taste is a term often applied to his music.  but his fans are loyal and happy bunch.

his performances are as quirky and odd as his music, often singing familiar songs in new versions or changing the language between french/spanish/italian...  but there is no doubt he is genuine.  he doesn't own a cell phone, have a facebook page or twitter account...  he just wants to sing his songs and do his goofy dances.  doesn't even sell merchandise at his shows.

I especially enjoyed the song "my affected accent".  the song details his attempt  at sounding intelligent when he was in high school.  he used big words  and mimicked william f buckley.  the audience had a great time with a call and response, they danced and laughed.  we all went home happy. 

I took the dslr to the wed night show, but chose to spend more time enjoying the show saturday night than trying to take pics, although I could not resist the iphone.