Josh Ritter—Off Broadway—St. Louis—July 28, 2009
First of all, is there any rock-and-roller who smiles more than Josh Ritter? I don’t see how since that dude never stopped smiling (or cracking up) over the course of his two-hour show last night. Although his press photos almost always depict a somber, contemplative artist, Ritter acted so I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening giddy last night, you’d have thought that it was his first show ever. He was like Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch. And the contact high was infectious between Ritter and the sold-out crowd, who were packed against the stage and smiling along with sweaty abandon.
And why not? Ritter came bounding out, backed by a tight four-piece, and played his crafty hook-filled folk-pop songs for an affectionate audience that knew all the words. It was a show all about the songs. It wasn’t about dancing or jamming or vibe or instrumentalism or drugs or fashion. It was about Josh Ritter songs. And what songs! Let’s look at the numbers: Two from 2001’s Golden Age of Radio, two from 2003’s Hello Starling, five from 2006’s The Animal Years (His best? Discuss!), six from The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, three new songs, and one cover. It was essentially a best-of show, leaning on the singles from each record and his more uptempo fare like crowd-fave “Me and Jiggs” from the otherwise chilled-out Golden album.
The setlist, and Ritter’s exuberant mood, made for a lively night, quieted just a couple of times, once on the Leonard Cohen-ish poem-song, “The Curse,” with Ritter tripping off an intoxicating stream of imagery, while the crowd was so hushed and attentive that I was afraid to clear my throat. It was a moment that showcased Ritter’s key gift: writing catchy songs, tons of them, with literary lyrics that range from totally unshitty to truly great, and if Ritter hasn’t yet reached the stature of the Great American Songwriters, he’s penned a body of work that makes those frequent comparisons understandable.
Elsewhere, the band hit the songs much harder than on his records, even those on the (for Ritter) rambunctious Conquests. (MVP? Bassist Zack Hickman, who looked like a bank teller from Gunsmoke and played with a tasteful blend of inventiveness and restraint.) Ritter was warm and gracious with the crowd all night, making jokes about local high schools, the Jonas Brothers (in concert at the same time just down the street), and St. Louis’s experimental City Museum, which the band had visited earlier in the day. And speaking of legendary songwriters, Ritter came out for the encore and performed a solo version of Springsteen’s “The River,” a genius choice—the Mississippi was just a few yards away—and he stepped away from the mic for a truly acoustic performance. Perhaps it was a tad theatrical, but you can’t blame Ritter for feeling he’d earned it. Plus, he knew when to stop—his band came out for just one more song, the stomping “Snow is Gone,” and into their bus they vanished, leaving everyone with plenty to smile about.
Setlist
1.Monster Ballads
2.Good Man
3.Rumors
4.Wolves
5.Southern Pacific
6.Empty Heart
7.Me and Jiggs
8.The Temptation of Adam
9.The Curse
10.Real Long Distance
11.Right Moves
12.Kathleen
13.Girl in the War
14.Annabelle Lee
15.Harrisburg
16.Lillian, Egypt
17.To the Dogs or Whoever
Encore
18.The River
19.Snow is Gone
