Richman rocks Charlottesville
Jonathan Richman never let on that he had a sore throat Saturday night. Only when meeting with fans following his hour-and-a-half long set did the singer motion to his throat as he signed autographs and posed for photos.
Richman, front man of ’70s band The Modern Lovers and best known to younger audiences as the singer from “There’s Something About Mary,” paid a visit to Charlottesville’s Starr Hill Brewery.
Jonathan Richman never let on that he had a sore throat Saturday night. Only when meeting with fans following his hour-and-a-half long set did the singer motion to his throat as he signed autographs and posed for photos.
Richman, front man of ’70s band The Modern Lovers and best known to younger audiences as the singer from “There’s Something About Mary,” paid a visit to Charlottesville’s Starr Hill Brewery.
Accompanied by drummer Tommy Larkin, Richman ran through the reservoir of songs from the band’s library and his own albums.
The set included “Pablo Picasso,” “I Was Dancing at the Lesbian Bar” and “The Modern World,” all of which had the audience singing along. The duo sprinkled-in two instrumentals and several selections from the 1994 Spanish-language album, “Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!”
His frenetic energy kept the intimate crowd whooping and clapping. He danced with his guitar, clapped and tapped a cowbell. Running his own soundboard, he added in echos and balanced the guitar and vocal pickups.
During “Vampire Girl,” he pointed out that many misunderstand the type of woman he was referring to. It isn’t the 22-year-old goth girl, but the 38-year-old waitress smoking a cigarette and looking mean, he said.
Perhaps the finest moment was when Richman ran through a stereotypical (but funny) breakup dialog between boyfriend and girlfriend not just in English but also in French, Italian and Spanish.
“Chinese!” shouted a lanky audience member, drawing a smile from the singer.
Despite his throat problems, Richman’s irreverent lyrics and energy made it an excellent show.
