I must admit I'm sometimes still confused at Jonathan Richman's transformation from mopey proto-punk Boston everyman to super happy proto-Raffi Boston everyman in the 1970s.
I once went to a show in the 1980s at Maxwells in Hoboken where you had to bring a kid to gain entry. So I borrowed a friend's kid. He liked it, the kid! It was super good, that show.
It’s just him and his guitar and drummer Tommy Larkins when he plays tomorrow night.
Richman’s touring to celebrate the release of two new 7-inches on the Cleveland-based Blue Arrow label, so bring some extra cash along with you.
Remember: the modern world is not so bad, not like the students say!
Do not attempt to take a cell phone picture of him, especially while he is playing. Dude is a romantical Luddite, but he can unleash a stern schoolmarm bite when he feels the need to.
Metro Times music editor Mike McGonigal has written about music since 1984, when he started the fanzine Chemical Imbalance at age sixteen with money saved from mowing lawns in Florida. He's since written for Spin, Pitchfork, the Village VOICE and Artforum. He's been a museum guard, a financial reporter, a bicycle...
