Superhero Appreciation Week - Jonathan Richman

Jonathan Richman - Live at The Schauberg, Bremen, Germany (6/3/85) Part 1
Jonathan Richman - Live at The Schauberg, Bremen, Germany (6/3/85) Part 2

Jonathan is one of my heroes. From the first second of the first Modern Lovers' song that I heard, I was in love, in awe, a devotee for life. Jonathan gave me a way of understanding the world, an ethical pathway, that helped me negotiate the horrors of high school while retaining my sanity. "Girlfriend" and "I'm Straight" and every damn song he sang was like church music to me. He taught me it was okay to be a romantic in an unromantic world, a man with a soft heart in a world that valued hardness, a guy who really does like to have a girl or a woman as a friend. Because of all this, and for literal decades of pleasure from his music, Jonathan is one of my superheroes this week.

This is a cool boot, too. I think it's two distinct sets from the same evening. A couple songs get repeated in set two, but that don't matter. Jonathan doesn't bore. My wife and I saw him at the long-gone O'Cayz Corral, back in '89 or '90, and by the last song of the night, the only thing you could hear in that jam-packed bar was his perfect voice and guitar. Not a mutter from the crowd, not a glass tinkling. The song was "Girlfriend" and it was perfect - hundreds of people holding their collective breath to catch every syllable - until the drunk next to me started yelling along to the chorus. I nearly killed a man, that night. But Jonathan wouldn't have liked that.

And, for a hero, buy shit!

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Now playing: dB's, The - Ups and Downs
via FoxyTunes