On June 20th my hot wife @OhTallOneKSV and myself went to The Great American Music Hall in beautiful (and slightly urine smelling) San Francisco to see Jonathan Coulton live in concert for the second time (third for me).
Let me go back...
In January of 2011 @OhTallOneKSV , Tony's hot wife @caminogirl13 , @yaggles23 himself and I all went to The Great American Music Hall in SF to see Jonathan Coulton with special guests Paul & Storm.
If you are a fan of wishlister Jonathan Coulton's music (and we are) then that concert was hard to top. Acoustic gold. Pure heartfelt whimsy and we enjoyed every second of it.
So of course since we are such fans of his acoustic soulful music I was a little worried that this tour (to promote his new album Artificial Heart) was straying away from his acoustic stuff and venturing into a world with a full band (the Jonathan Coulton Orchestra) backing him.
I love Paul & Storm and was a little sad to hear they weren't opening for him but not a few seconds after John Roderick (lead singing of The Long Winters) took the stage I was reminded that new things can be great. John Roderick has an amazing voice and some poetic lyrics that reminded me of 90s Oasis.
Then came the man JoCo himself. Whatever trepidation I had towards the full band experience was erased quickly. The drummer and bass player rocked and Mr. Coulton transferred his skill with acoustic style easily to the faster electric sound. Think back to when Bob Dylan made that same transition, yes I know that's a HUGE comparison to make but when you prove your genius and talent in one style and build a fan base with that style it can be scary to switch over.
The electric guitar blaring, the drums thumping and the bass pumping breathed a new life into music that was already amazing. I Feel Fantastic went from a witty fun jump around and sing a long track to something that honestly felt a lot like a late 1970s punk song. Of course the tried and true acoustic stuff was there too. I Crush Everything tugged at everyone's heartstrings and made me tear up a little.
The
stuff he played off the new album Artificial Heart (of which I bought the
"Outdated Format Version" aka Vinyl) was all great. Stand out had to
be Je Suis Rick Springfield, the story of a guy in France trying to convince
two women who don't speak english that he is Rick Springfield all the while
trying to remind them WHO Rick Springfield is, all with very limited french
skills. Je Suis Rick Springfield led perfectly into a cover of Jesse's Girl
which rocked.
Jonathan
Coulton's storytelling between songs is well polished and fun, with plenty of
room for riffing between band members (Spock from Star Trek had a PhD in child
development, betcha didn't know that). And they blew the house away with an
outstanding version of Feel Like Making Love with John Roderick just rocking
the house on lead guitar.
Thank
you @jonathancoulton for having the guts to venture out. This is definitely a
concert not to miss. Videos to come shortly, I promise.
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