Photo Credit: Paul Yem<\/p>\n
Review by By Sadie Shelkey<\/p>\n
With excellent storytelling, infectious sound, and his characteristically zany lyrics, MJ Lenderman\u2019s new album \u201cManning Fireworks\u201d has quickly become one of my favorites this year. Tuesday\u2019s show at Royale was part of Lenderman\u2019s sold-out North American tour as MJ Lenderman & the Wind.<\/p>\n
The unseasonably hot fall night proved a welcome surprise as I trekked down Tremont St. to Royale, meeting a buzzing crowd with previously unheard-of mustache-per-capita rates. The show opened with a strong performance from Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. Despite Davis\u2019 claim that they\u2019re usually more fun during shows, the band\u2019s guitarist coming onstage in full Knicks gear was the bit of the night. It set a playful energy that culminated in a lively set (and a Celtics victory).<\/p>\n
The opening song was their weakest, a more stripped-back tune that relied too heavily on lyrics and not enough on the brilliant band patiently waiting for their turns through subdued chords. While I noticed the similar witty turns of phrases that I love in Lenderman\u2019s music, it took until their second number, \u201cLearn to Re-Luv,\u201d for me to fully get on board. \u201cFlashes of Orange\u201d was a personal favorite, and with \u201cFree From the Guillotine,\u201d I felt silly ever having doubts.<\/p>\n
At this point, I feel obligated to give a special shout-out to the person crocheting on stage between sets. Keep it up, you\u2019re an inspiration.<\/p>\n
With crochet-person back in the wings, Lenderman and the band took the stage with an awkward grace as they fiddled with mics and equipment. Any unease quickly vanished as they started their performance with the new album\u2019s title track, \u201cManning Fireworks\u201d \u2013the crowd echoing Lenderman\u2019s tongue-in-cheek lyrics they know by heart.<\/p>\n
From violin horse noises during this song to a later soprano sax feature, the band was fantastic and full of surprises\u2013 perfectly complimenting Lenderman\u2019s subtle performance. Everyone seemed in tune with each other, exchanging nods between verses and jamming through song after song as they moved through \u201cRudolph,\u201d which ended with an interlude I wish had made it onto the album.<\/p>\n
Early in the show, Lenderman mentioned his and many of his bandmates\u2019 Asheville roots. They played \u201cPianos,\u201d Lenderman\u2019s dreamy, instrumental-heavy contribution to the 136-song compilation “Cardinals at the Window,” released on Bandcamp to benefit Hurricane relief efforts in Western NC.<\/p>\n
Lenderman moved through the concert with a well-chosen setlist startlingly similar to my own playlist, \u201cMJ Lenderman!!!\u201d From the more subdued performance of \u201cTLC Cage Match\u201d to an apparently mosh-worthy rendition of \u201cShe\u2019s Leaving You,\u201d Lenderman and the crowd seemed to reach what I can only describe as a perfect homeostasis, adjusting to each other\u2019s shifting energies as the music echoed through the full venue.<\/p>\n
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse band retook the stage for the encore, sporting Halloween costumes from gnome to wolfman, beers in hand. Davis killed it, stealing the show as he howled out the verses. Lenderman took the choruses as both bands joined in the celebratory performance. Lenderman kept up the energy as he finished the set with \u201cTastes Just Like it Costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
All in all, this show was one of the best I\u2019ve seen recently. MJ Lenderman & the Wind took Royale by storm, reflecting the character that drew me to \u201cManning Fireworks\u201d and delivering a phenomenal performance I won\u2019t soon forget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photo Credit: Paul Yem Review by By Sadie Shelkey With excellent storytelling, infectious sound, and his characteristically zany lyrics, MJ Lenderman\u2019s new album \u201cManning Fireworks\u201d has quickly become one of my favorites this year. Tuesday\u2019s show at Royale was part of Lenderman\u2019s sold-out North American tour as MJ Lenderman & the Wind. The unseasonably hot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24057,"featured_media":44081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[2150,33,97,2149,31,138],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44080"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44195,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44080\/revisions\/44195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}