Show Review: Jenny Lewis and Heartless Bastards

July 9, 2009
by
1 min read

WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE
EXTRACT
G-FORCE
LOST
THE HANGOVER

by Jack Diablo

Venue: Freebird Live
Date: June 30, 2009
As the face of Rilo Kiley and a former child actor, Jenny Lewis has solidified her place as America’s indie sweetheart. You’d be hard pressed these days to find a boy between the age of 18-35 who doesn’t have a massive crush on her, whether he’ll admit to listening to her sensitive songs or not. She recently stopped by Freebird Live on tour with her solo alt-country project.
Before the packed out crowd got a peek at this modern legend, they were treated to the bluesy rock of Heartless Bastards. Their recorded stuff has a definite southern tinge to it, but despite previously touring with the likes of Lucinda Williams and playing at the famed Ryman Auditorium, their live show proves they are decidedly more rock n roll than country. There is even a little garage in their sound and just a hint of the psychedelic. Erika Wennerstrom belted out soulfully fierce and raspy vocals despite her petite frame while the band kicked out the jams with an unexpected intensity. They even got a little gnarly towards the end, demonstrating no fear of making a little noise. It’s safe to say that Heartless Bastards turned more than a few heads and recruited a healthy number of new fans.
When Jenny Lewis took the stage, the crowd erupted with applause as she proceeded to rock harder than I would have thought possible. I was expecting a cute girl in a vintage dress playing some laid back acoustic tunes, not a sultry vixen channeling the rambunctious step-daughter of Patsy Cline. Lewis does adorable and seductive with equal grace so far as to cause even the females in the audience to swoon as she snarled and tossed her hair in front of her face. Most of the set was of a much higher energy than the vibe one gets from her first release, Rabbit Fur Coat. Without the Watson Twins, Lewis is able to strut and jive with her band including her wild female drummer and percussionist who ended the night with an unexpected but damn good drum solo outro.
Although I’ve always enjoyed what she’s done with Rilo Kiley and this solo project, I wasn’t expecting much more than some good tunes. Seeing Jenny Lewis rock out coupled with the explosive surprise that was Heartless Bastards, I left Freebird incredibly impressed with a new found respect for both acts.

Folio is your guide to entertainment and culture around and near Jacksonville, Florida. We cover events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings, and all things about living and visiting Jax. Folio serves more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, The Beaches, and Fernandina.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

Welcome to Rockville 2025
SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
omaha-steaks-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

Previous Story

approaching literacy

Next Story

Perpetual Groove

Latest from On Stage

Beat It to MJ THE MUSICAL Downtown

The audience is socializing as patrons trickle in.  The auditorium lights are on.  Then you realize actors are trickling onto the stage.  If you’re not watching for them to be starting something, you might not notice.  Suddenly, someone comes on and announces, “Five minutes ’til Michael,” and you realize you’re

Carole King is BEAUTIFUL at the Alhambra

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL focuses on thirteen (1958-1971) years in a longer career, and it showcases not only Carole the singer/songwriter, but her first major writing partner, a second writing duo who were competitors and friends, as well as some of the numerous artists that actually recorded their varied

LES MISERABLES is a Tapestry of Sight and Sound

If you love opera, you’ll love LES MISERABLES.  If you don’t love opera, you’ll love LES MISERABLES.  The original story was written in the 1800’s by author and artist Victor Hugo, then adapted in 1980 into a French sung-through musical by Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil.  Five years later, it was

April Theater, Dance and Film

April 1-6 “Les Miserables” Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts fscjartistseries.org April 3 “A Year With Frog and Toad” Thrasher-Horne Center thcenter.org April 3-11 “Beautiful: The Carole King Story” Alhambra Theatre & Dining alhambrajax.com April 3-13 “Oklahoma!” Artist Connection Theatre artistconnectiontheatre.org April 4 “The Great Gatsby:

In the Midst

Words by Ambar Ramirez “My motto is for the community, by the community. And that is a representation of who you share and forge spaces with, and in the midst is a true representation of community experiences built on the life experiences of true creatives that eat, breathe, live
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp

Don't Miss

The Avett Brothers

November 15 The Avett Brothers St. Augustine Amphitheatre (904) 471-1965

Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone “Twitter is the postcards in my head.” It’s