I’ve always enjoyed listening to Jenny Lewis — whether in Rilo Kiley or her first two albums — but the new one, Voyager, is the first that hooked in deep from start to finish. Despite the poppier melodies on cuts like Just One of the Guys and She’s Not Me, the songs have a darkness and weariness that didn’t seem as present before. With the Voyager, Lewis isn’t simply showing off her solid songwriting chops — she’s letting listeners in, allowing us to feel the worry and sadness she buries deep.
The Voyager tour, just a couple of weeks in, made its way to Deluxe in the Old National Center Thursday night to the delight of hundreds of fans. The crowd deserves recognition — it was the most engaged group I’ve seen in Deluxe since Bat for Lashes shook through a few years back.
Lewis and her band, all dressed in white, opened the set with Guys, the current single, before digging out Rilo Kiley favorite Silver Lining. The sound mix was solid from the start. Deluxe can get murky, so for a band with pristine parts, the layers have to be pure. Fortunately, they were. Lewis’ voice, the most important instrument, sounded rich, as she hit notes with precision.
After a couple more new ones, the evening hit its first peak with Acid Tongue’s Pretty Bird, the Rilo Kiley tune The Moneymaker, and Tongue’s suite-like Next Messiah. The band was fully in sync at that point, which is perhaps why they decided to try Late Bloomer for the first time live. Lewis proved she wasn’t perfect by flubbing some of the lyrics, but the mistakes were endearing and seemed to invest the audience even more.
The main set wrapped up with Rilo Kiley’s A Better Son/Daughter, before the band came out for a two-song encore of Acid Tongue and She’s Not Me. Though the last song is great, it felt slightly anticlimactic in the sequencing. Maybe it’s not perfected live yet, but I think Lewis could have really put a bow on the concert by ending the show alone performing Voyager’s title track, similar to the way Springsteen closes many shows solo.
Minor qualms aside, it was a fantastic night in the ONC basement. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Apache Relay’s engaging, albeit short, set.
If you’ve yet to listen to the Voyager, I urge you to go get it.
Were you there? What did you think of the show?