Jonathan Richman live at Ottobar in Baltimore, Maryland review

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I’ve been listening to Jonathan Richman‘s music for more than 40 years, but I was a total virgin at his show in Baltimore on Saturday. Squeezed into the balcony of Ottobar, I found myself seated next to one woman who was seeing him for the third consecutive night. On the other side was a couple who had travelled 200 miles from New Jersey to catch the show. They estimated they had seen Richman in concert about 30 times.

Based on how over 400 people seemed to know and sing most of the songs, it appears I might have been the exception rather than the rule within that gathering.

Richman is in the tail end of his most recent tour which saw him travel down from Canada into New England and points south. He and long-time drummer Tommy Larkins take the stage alone. Richman has one acoustic guitar and several handheld percussion instruments lying around. When the mood strikes, he sets the guitar down and grabs a maraca or sleigh bell and shakes away. Larkins provides a steady, understated beat throughout.

Jonathan Richman paints a perfect picture

At 73, Richman still manages to project the youthful insouciance of Pee Wee Herman coupled with the passionate embrace of humanity that he has always maintained, regardless of how funny or silly any particular song might be.

The reason that the woman to my left could venture into the Ottobar for three consecutive nights is that Richman never plays the same show twice. Not even close. Though he is playing a few more of his older “hits,” which according to some of the veterans I spoke with has not always been the case, Richman has accumulated so many songs over the decades that it is nigh on impossible to catalogue.

Many, he has never released in album form. So when he kicked off with a song which I assume is called “Weird Things,” none of my more experienced newfound friends could place it. But it was a great opener, touching as the singer often does, on the wild and mysterious carnival that is life. Everyone has their own weird things, he assures us.

Whereas some of the tortured singer-songwriters from his era might dwell on how scary those dark and unknown forces can be, Richman has always been the optimist. “I Love This Sad World,” which came in the middle of his 70-minute set, serves as a core statement of his philosophy.

Even better, “When We Refuse to Suffer,” from his 2008 album Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild, positively relishes in the joys of pain. It is not the least bit masochistic. The argument is that living in fear of pain robs life of its greatest joys. Put more succinctly, as Richman did in one of his many improvised lines offered throughout the evening “without suffering we can have porno, but we can’t have Leonardo.”

To be honest, I don’t remember the exact quote. Richman sets some pretty strict rules for his shows and one of the them is no cell phones. That’s how I jot down notes so I can remind myself of a key line like that. Even so, I know I have the spirit right.

Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci have significantly influenced Richman’s artistry throughout his career. On Saturday, he paid tribute to two renowned painters in his own unique way. First, he released “No Artist Compared to Vermeer,” followed by a fresh interpretation of “Modern Picasso” that left the audience thrilled.

Sandwiched in between the two painter songs was another popular Richman theme. He loves the underdog. “David and Goliath” is a retelling of the biblical tale with Richman’s own unique spin. And it makes for an excellent sing-along, the first of several on the night.

The loudest sing-along came in the middle of the evening when he launched into what may be his best-loved song. “I Was Dancing at the Lesbian Bar” is great fun on record, but nothing can top a live show. Richman will dance at the drop of a hat. You never know when he will drop the guitar, strip off his sweater, and start boogeying like he was on Dance Fever.

Often, the terpsichorean adventures will be announced with instructions to the audience – “Audience, keep the beat and Tommy will do something on the drums.” Then, the audience claps, Larkins riffs behind his kit, and Richman performs a joyful dance.

The other standard from a Richman is the instrumental “Egyptian Reggae,” taken from Earl Zero’s 1973 original. Richman debuted it with his band The Modern Lovers almost fifty years ago. He did a lovely, bare bones “Affection,” another Modern Lovers original that Richman rerecorded twenty years later as a solo artist.

Richman is the master of the false ending. “David and Goliath” ended at least half a dozen times, but he kept bringing it back for an approving audience. He did that again during his encore, when he opened with another of his yearning, wistful love songs derived from adolescence, ”Older Girl.” It was another multi-chorus sing-along, and it felt like the end of a show.

Only it wasn’t, because there was still “Cold Pizza.” No need to encourage the crowd to join in on this one. They all jumped in uninvited. Even a virgin like me. With lyrics like …

“Cold pizza, food of the gods – Aphrodite might be there, but what are the odds?”

…how can your really resist?

In the upcoming week, Richman and Larkins will travel further south through Tennessee and Texas. After that, they plan to take a two-month break. Starting from May, they’ll head towards the Pacific coast.

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2025-03-17 16:20