We had to finish out the week with one last Jonathan Richman post. The above video is a vintage clip of Katie performing a specially choreographed dance to the old tune “It’s You” from the out-of-print album It’s Time For Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. In case you you can’t tell, those are dinosaur pajamas.
Last night was great again. Jonathan added a bit in the cellphone song in which a friend asks him, “But Jonathan, what happens when there are no more pay phones and you need to get ahold of me?” Jonathan responds, “Well then I’ll write you a LETTAH! Write you a LETTAH! Or send you a postcawd…” So good. The above video is a quick clip of the beginning of the song, shot in Milan last month. Tonight’s contest winner is Joe. Here is his story:
One night a band that I used to play drums in was playing a show at the Make Out Room. I think it was a Monday or Tuesday. We had done weeknight shows at the Make Out Room before and they were always pretty uneventful, but we played them anyways. One night we were opening for local troubadour Jesse DeNatale. I’d never heard Jesse’s music before, but met him after we’d played our set (we were the first band), and after a brief hello he asked if I’d like to play drums for him that evening. I said I didn’t know any of his songs, but he reassured me that they were all pretty straightforward Bob Dylan/Van Morrison type stuff that I could easily handle. So I said sure, why not, it sounded like fun.
Before we were about to play, Jesse introduced me to the other guys playing with him that night. There was a bassist who I forget the name of, but I was immediately struck by the guitarist Jonathan. Oh my god, I thought, that’s Jonathan Richman!
I went over and talked to the guys in my band, and we all couldn’t believe it. We had actually been working on a Modern Lovers cover the week before at band practice, but decided it wasn’t ready yet. We all joked that it was a good thing we didn’t play it that night!
So I played the set with Jesse, bass guy and Jonathan, and it was a blast. There was a dog that kept coming in to the Make Out Room and Jonathan, in his childlike voice, was cracking himself up and kept saying “that dog needs a bone! He’s barking because he lost his bone!”. I had a great time that night, even if we were playing to only about 20 people or so. Now I can say “I played drums with Jonathan Richman”.
I saw Jonathan a couple years later when I went to see another Jesse DeNatale show, and he remembered me right away, which I totally wasn’t expecting. He’s a super nice guy and a great personality.
I’d love to go see him play at the Make Out Room!
This one we liked because in a way it kind of sums up everything great about both the Mission and Jonathan. Plus it mentions Jesse DeNatale, who was definitely in the crowd last night. Congrats, Joe!
Night two was right up there with night one. Jonathan and Tommy played a new song that goes “The country scares me to death / Any place where John Deere tractors are more important than dancing scares me to death.” Amen. Tonight is night three, and Sherri will be attending. She entered our contest, and here is her winning entry:
Because I can still sing Corner Store after all these years? No, prob not good enough… How about that the combo of he and Minor Threat (dated myself there) got me thru San Diego State as one of the lone skatepunks in a school of blonde frat boys & valley girl wanna-be’s? And that just reading his name made me light up with a fond memory smile… time to revisit an old friend.
We liked this one because we like that she associates Jonathan with Minor Threat. And we’re really into skate punks this week. And we like revisiting old friends. Congrats, Sherri!
Last night’s show was a stunner. The house was packed, and Jonathan and Tommy were in top form. They played a lot of old hits, and debuted some great new material, including a chant-along proto-punk rant about cellphones that should probably satisfy the needs of those people that constantly shout requests for She Cracked. Tonight’s contest winner is Will. Here is his entry:
I’ve seen Jonathan Richman only once before, in early 2001. It was the day after my 20th birthday and as a treat my friend offered to drive me from Norman, OK to Rubber Gloves in Denton, TX to see him perform. I was in my first year of college and had only recently began to broaden my musical horizons (with the aid of the still functionin Napster and Audio Galaxy) so I had either not yet heard of or had not paid any attention to the name Jonathan Richman. I decided to go since a free show was a free show. The opening act was Eric Bachmann performing songs from his still fresh project Crooked Fingers. Richman came on shortly afterward, shaking the hand of Penn Jillette who somehow appeared in the audience. He played for a good hour and a half on the bare stage, what I would soon learn were classics from his days with the Modern Lovers, love ballads in spanish, songs that were inflatable water park sinisterly child-like. This was the first time I heard his music and I wish that I could have the pleasure of discovering the music of every great artist so intimately. To experience Jonathan again would be great, but to experience him again in such a raw and almost unrehearsed state would be a fitting sequel.
This one we liked because of the imagery of Penn and Jonathan being buddies, the opportunity to reiterate that these shows can be raw and unrehearsed, and despite the fact that chuckling at the Audio Galaxy reference made us feel old. Congrats, Will. Show time is 8pm, don’t be late!
Photo of Jonathan thanking the crowd after last night’s show by wizardmountain.
Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins begin their four-night residency at the Make-Out Room tonight. The club gave Mission Mission a small block of tickets to give away to readers, and we decided to do it contest-style. Tonight’s winner is Joel, and here is his entry:
Probably by most accounts I don’t deserve to go to this show. I’ve never knowingly heard Jonathan Richman. However!–at a formative time in my life (late high school), Craig Mitchell’s MyBoot.com and its flagship unfinished novella, My Girlfriend Hates My Futon, firmly impressed upon me how incredibly worthwhile one of his concerts would be. For the last 9 years or so I haven’t had the chance to find out for myself, but this seems like perfect serendipity. This is that chance. Now is the time.
For reference, or on the off chance that you have no idea what I’m talking about, said novella is only available on the internet archive. I’ve gone to great trouble to find the pertinent chapter for you: [link]. While you’re at it, try giving the rest of the story a read and just see if it’s not the sort of thing that would have given high-school-aged you some ideas about music.
Well we have kind of a short attention span right now, so we’ll get back to you about the novella, but we certainly like the idea of reminiscing about high-school aged us, and we like serendipity. Congrats, Joel!
