Josh Ritter: Showbox, Seattle, WA, February 25, 2007
My Baby and I skipped out on the Oscars on Sunday night to see Josh Ritter’s show at Showbox. Ritter completely outdid the Academy, who were somehow not bothered by The Departed’s plot’s holes through which you could drive Jack Nicholson’s ego.
First of all, shame on Line Out for not giving Ritter one word of press in the week prior to the show or since. For a blog that purports to be all about local music but then spends a week wanking to the thought of Georgia’s Of Montreal coming through, this was a huge slap in the face to a brilliant musician from the Northwest. Of course, people in the
It’s really their loss, because Ritter put on a hell of a show. He left his band at home, and stood alone on a stage sparsely decorated with a velvet curtain, three hanging empty picture frames, an old school writing table and fancy lamp, and two beverage glasses. Ritter himself was fully bearded with a head full of an artiste’s wild, curly mane. Dressed in a white suit, he had a full-on Mark Twain look about him and I fully suspect one of his two beverages was a mint julep.
Playing at least seven of the eleven tracks from The Animal Years, Ritter held the crowd enthralled, expertly creating a lineup of songs that arced towards the brilliant climaxes of “Snow is Gone” (32 days until baseball season) and “Thin Blue Flame.”
Other than admitting to feeling road-weary, Ritter seemed to be having a fantastic time the whole night, sporting an elated grin, stomping his feet to the music, and openly sharing his delightfully oddball personality with the audience. It wasn’t until the encore that I started to lose interest, which is a testament to just how good the show was. MPL has a hate-hate relationship with encores, so the show still stands as the best I’ve seen in quite a long time.