The Spin spent the early part of Sunday afternoon enjoying a moment of collective reverie, watching Lambchop play a last-minute release show at Grimey’s for the group's 13th album This (is what I wanted to tell you), which came out on Friday. For a second or two, we imagined we were getting a taste of the band’s many gigs during the ’90s at independent record store, underground scene hub and all-ages hangout Lucy’s Record Shop. But that was a different time, with the global political and cultural climate in a different state, and the evolution of both Nashville’s music culture and Lambchop itself are in very different phases today. We can’t re-create the past, and probably wouldn’t want to, despite the frustrating and disheartening mess that the present can be. Sunday’s brief and hypnotic performance was a reminder of a lot of good things that are available in the here-and-now as well.
The show was a cozy affair, and we spotted lots of familiar faces in the packed room. This was only the second time we’ve seen a show at Grimey’s since the store moved to Trinity Lane in the fall (the first was for Nashville Cassette Store Day), and the P.A. sounds great. Onstage was a condensed version of the large Lambchop ensemble, with frontman Kurt Wagner backed by bassist Matt Swanson, pianist Tony Crow, and Paul Niehaus on pedal steel and electric guitar.
Over about half an hour, Wagner & Co. played five songs from This, which heavily features synthesizers and drum machines, but they had neither for this set. Wagner’s amp was turned low, but he strummed hard on his electric guitar, and it served as percussion, carrying easily over the crowd, which seemed to be in a meditative hush. The arrangements seemed relatively fresh — we noticed that Wagner and Niehaus had charts in front of them — and focused on a subtle, almost telepathic interplay between the musicians.
Their close playing as a unit was perfect for performing songs from a record that evokes intimacy in its lyrics. Some of the lyrics come across as snippets of conversation between two people, and other times they seem to be Wagner turning things over in his own mind. The unnamed characters struggle with how to change our world for the better, especially when it feels like the speed of contemporary life is diminishing the value of processing information and seeing what it means in a broader cultural context — one of the things that art is supposed to do. One place where this is especially apparent is in “The New Isn't So You Anymore,” as Wagner sings through the melodious warble of his vocal effects machine: “Let's start again like stupid children / Sir, I'm afraid that's not possible / Just in case you need reminding / The new isn't so you anymore.”
Someday, hopefully far in the future, Lambchop will join the list of great things that we won’t be able to experience in person anymore. But for now, we’ll appreciate the good stuff. That includes the work of many artists who are taking on the difficult task of examining our unsettled, frequently ugly time. And it also includes Wagner’s promise of a full-band Lambchop show in Nashville before too long.
See our slideshow for more photos.
Set List
1. The Air Is Heavy and I Should Be Listening to You
2. Crosswords, or What This Says About You
3. The New Isn't So You Anymore
4. The Lasting Last of You
5. Flower
In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.
