Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins

This show also sold out rather quickly, and all 800 people in the venue seemed fixated on the stage. Jenny was dressed in a low cut, sparkly black dress armed with her guitar that is half the size of her body. To her right were the Watson twins clad in matching dresses. For most of the performance, their movements were synchronized. This part of the show felt a bit cheesy (a la a Doublemint commercial), but it was somewhat fun to watch as it felt reminiscent of old country and western performances. Jenny belted out most of the songs on the Rabbit Fur Coat record, and a few surprise unreleased tracks.

The sound of the live performance was much more robust that I had expected, with a fellow on the slide guitar giving an incredible performance. The highlight of the show was during “Rise Up with Fists” when the whole band erupted into a gospel jam session that transformed Bimbos into a Southern church. The other highlight was when Jenny was on stage solo playing “Rabbit Fur Coat” (which is the tale of one girl’s knifepoint attempted theft of another’s coat, in which revenge was had by sleeping with knifepoint girl’s father) and forgot the lines to the third verse. She cutely giggled and asked the very eager audience to help her to remember. Obviously, the adoring audience was more than willing to help.

From Jenny’s clever and sassy lyrics to her brilliant voice and her immense charm, she really is my hero. I hope you have learned two things from this article: 1) If you don’t own Rabbit Fur Coat, go out and get it now! If you have any taste in music, you will enjoy it. 2) If Jenny Lewis ever comes to town, scoop up tickets and get ready to be evangelized.

Photo courtesy of Fempire