On Thursday night at Alexandria's Birchmere, Jenny Lewis, 5'1" and bedecked in western-style vintage clothing, graced the metropolitan area with her own cowboy boot-wearin' entourage, which included the musical duo the Watson Twins.
Lewis has long been the hip front woman of the band Rilo Kiley, but on this night she transformed from a mildly embittered rock star to a sweet and sentimental crooner (in a good way). The Birchmere, with its large floor and Western d?cor, proved to be a solid venue and exceedingly appropriate for the new, finally grown Jenny Lewis.
Despite actively dispelling rumors that Rilo Kiley as a unit is over (while Jenny's gone solo, fellow band member Blake Sennett is working on his own project, The Elected), Lewis has more or less made it appear that as a solo act, she is here to stay, especially after this year's debut, "Rabbit Fur Coat." Everything about her concert, including opening acts Whispertown 2000 and Jonathan Rice, was sweet, low-key, sincere and mostly acoustic. Both acts are old friends and fans of Lewis, and rumor from semi-credible sources has it that she and Rice have been dating on and off for the past two years.
Both Whispertown 2000 and Rice had solid performances and a supportive audience (thank Rice's family, who was there in droves), but they don't really matter. What matters is that Jenny Lewis was performing, and as far as anyone should be concerned, all things she does are holy.
Take, for example, her entrance. Of course, the cowboy boot-clad band showed up first, but what made the audience quake and cry was her entrance onto the floor. Despite being followed by the very tall (Amazonian, almost) Watson twins, the tiny Ms. Lewis had a command of the breathless and silent audience in a signature short vintage dress, drawing comparisons to a cowgirl gone to heaven. She and her entourage slowly walked out, accompanied by whoops and hollers, in time to the a cappella opening song of "Run Devil Run" from "Rabbit Fur Coat," and in an instant the excited audience was silent. "Run Devil Run," as with the album, kicked into "The Big Guns" with gusto.
With such a stellar entrance, it is hard to believe that the rest of the concert was able to live up to the experience. But repent, sinners, because it did. Alternating between unreleased songs and those from the album, Ms. Lewis was poised, graceful and way bigger than 5'1". Chandra and Leigh Watson's supporting vocal harmonies certainly helped the matter. With the occasional tambourine playing on more upbeat tunes, the twins were stoic and present, perhaps a necessary accessory for the success of Lewis' new musical turn.
While fans of the album would have been pleased at the many songs performed Thursday night, the true treats were the old-fashioned covers and new originals. Of note were Lewis' heart-exposing solo rendition of title track "Rabbit Fur Coat," the new raucous Gospel-style "Jack Killed Mom" ("This is a love song," Lewis explained), a gospel cover of "Cold Jordan" (performed with Jonathan Rice) and the Lewis and Watson a cappella encore of "I Met Him On a Sunday."
It was easy to see, post-encore, that the Birchmere audience (mainly young ladies with sideswept bangs and grandparents) had bonded deeply over Ms. Lewis' dynamic show. It's not often that an indie rock superstar can change an image overnight, but in this case, Jenny Lewis has, and it absolutely works. Jenny's vocal evolution has been apparent since Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous" (2004), but in whichever incarnation she appears, from child actress to bluegrass queen, her rock-solid performance, enduring presence and girl-next-door attitude will hopefully keep her around the music world for years to come.
