spinachdip nyc: She's a little bit country

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One last quick post before the barbarians storm Rome on the Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins show on Saturday night.

Irving Plaza was packed (it was sold out, so obviously, yeah) - first time I've been to a really full show at Irving, and I haven't see a crowd that was as abuzz since the Hives @ Bowery in 2002 or Gang Starr @ Limelight in 2000 or, I don't know, Bloc Party @ Bowery in 2005. But more on the crowd later.

Jenny, the twins and the band sounded great. As much as I've been enjoying the album, the songs are so much richer with a full backing band, steel guitars and whatnot. "Rise Up With Fists" sounded especially strong. It's pretty easy to forget that you're listening to a former child actor/indie rocker singing country songs - the shit works.

They played the entire Rabbit Fur Coat (sans "Handle With Care", obviously) plus a couple of new songs and an a capella "I Met Him On A Sunday" with just Jenny and the twins during the encore. The girl behind me knew all the words.

Why do I get the feeling that about 80% of the audience -male and female- had a crush on her? I don't think any other artist could get away with her 70's Nashville-hippie dress or the slo-mo walk at the beginning and the end of the set.

Do I have to mention the Watson Twins every time? I realize the twins are an integral part of the sound, but we know we're all listening to Jenny. It's not like a Raekwon album where Ghostface ends up being the star. They're more like Cappadona.

That said, it's cool seeing the Watsons do their almost-creepy synchronized backup-singer motions and percussion.

Not that I could see much of the stage though - I like standing-only joints like Irving and Bowery, but not so much when tall people stand in front of me. I felt worse for my lovely companion who's much shorter than I (and I'm short to begin with). She got stuck next to this dude who looked like a very, very poor man's George O'Malley (can I go one post without making a Grey's Anatomy reference?) and apparently kept stepping on her and blocking her view every couple of minutes to take a photograph.

The crowd was a little older than last year's Rilo Kiley show at Webster Hall which pretty much felt like freshman orientation at NYU. And yeah, taller.

Is there some rule that you have to talk about the audience in every indie show recap? I guess in a small venue, the crowd has a bigger effect on the experience. Normally, I don't care - people enjoy music differently. Whether you stand there and nod your head or dance your ass off, it's all good with me. The only time the standing still thing bothers me is if the artist is specifically asking for audience participation. Still, it seemed like the taller assholes who pushed their way to the front seemed more interested in chatting with their dates or otherwise standing with arms folded.

Still, besides seeing little of the stage and my neck being in pain, lovely show.

Passed by the newly opened Trader Joe's 14th on the way to the show and there was a line to get in. Mind you, this was at 8:30 pm on Saturday and it was pretty fucking freezing out.

Downloads: Jenny Lewis - Live at the Echo, June 6, 2004