The Wake

March was an odd month. The weather proved to be unpredictable, and spring break was over before the untimely snow even started melting. Luckily, Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins brought some stability to this bizarre time of the year.

Lewis, known best as the vocalist for the indie-rock band Rilo Kiley, is touring in support her first solo record, titled Rabbit Fur Coat. On March 12, the singer and her band provided their audience with an evening of simple, earnest, and beautiful music—proving that these things still have a place in the realm of rock.

Matching the simplicity of the music was the venue itself, the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis. Looking like your typical high school auditorium, the theater inside the Woman’s Club seats about 400 people on the floor and more than 200 in the balcony. The size of the venue and the minimalist stage setup ensured that not a single sound was lost throughout the night.

The first of two opening acts was a four piece from Los Angeles called Whispertown 2000. While their songs were fun and creative, the band itself was in need of a little work. Vocalist Morgan Nagler had trouble finding the right notes and their overall impact was underwhelming.

Following Whispertown 2000 was singer-songwriter Jonathan Rice. With his wide vocal range and competent guitar playing, Rice was able to immediately grab the audience’s attention. Accompanied by a lap steel player known only as “Farmer Dave,” Rice delivered a set of poignant songs and exchanged hilarious banter with his audience, accusing them on several occasions of being too serious. At the end of his set, Rice joked, “You’ll see us sooner than you think … in about twenty minutes. We’re in the band.”

As promised, Rice and Farmer Dave returned to play guitar and lap steel respectively for main set. They were joined by a drummer and a bassist to back Lewis along with harmony vocalists Chandra and Leigh Watson. Lewis and the twins took the stage with the a cappella opener from Rabbit Fur Coat, “Run Devil Run,” and immediately established the power of their combined voices. Throughout the set, Lewis demonstrated her malleability as a singer—fitting her voice into the loud, full sound of tunes like “Rise Up With Fists!!” and acoustic numbers like “Rabbit Fur Coat.” In any milieu, her voice sounded perfectly placed.

The live show also contained a lot of dynamic contrast, something that is missing from the record. The drummer and bassist were able to gradually work their way into a song without being conspicuous. Even on slower numbers like “Melt Your Heart,” they tastefully employed their skills in a way that complimented the vocals.

And while the band behind her was above average, Lewis still managed to outshine them. Her clear, steady voice was impossible to ignore from the moment she took the stage. This is a noticeable point of departure from the singer’s work with Rilo Kiley, whose sound has a tendency to distract and wash out the vocals. And as that act continues to play to larger and larger crowds (they opened for Coldplay’s arena tour in 2005), fans should relish the chance to hear the intimacy that the Woman’s Club Theater had to offer.

Lewis’ earnest delivery of these melancholy songs struck a chord with listeners, who sat quietly through the performance, absorbing every word. The singer said very little to the crowd that night, often taking the time between songs to drink from a bottle of water. The few times she did speak were to introduce new songs, of which she played two, or on one occasion, to dedicate a song to her father, who was in the audience that evening.

If there was one thing that detracted from the show, it was the stage gimmicks. From the choreographed movements of the Watson Twins to the all-black, urban cowboy garb that the entire band wore, the stage was full of nuances that seemed too well planned. The music was solid, and this was a group that didn’t need to fall back on these sorts of distractions, which have the potential to cheapen the entire experience. In spite of this, the music was easily able to make itself heard.

In the lobby of the theater after the show, there was talk of Lewis’ new, refreshing spin on “country” music. And while the harmonies of the Watson Twins and Farmer Dave’s lap steel add a distinct twang to the sound, it can hardly be called country. After all, it is one of forbearers of rock—there are bound to be similarities. So while Lewis’ folksy songs sound more like Nashville than Los Angeles, they’re a far cry from thoroughbred country music.

Having heard Rabbit Fur Coat, I went to the Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins show with a fear that the evening was going to be slow paced. What I found, however, was that Lewis is the kind of singer who I could listen to for hours, and her band has an acute sense of what every song is in need of—something that is comforting any time of the year, and especially in March.