jonathan richman tour 2022

• Moscow concerts Moscow concerts Moscow concerts See all Moscow concerts ( Change location ) Today · Next 7 days · Next 30 days
• Most popular artists worldwide
• Trending artists worldwide

• Tourbox for artists

Search for events or artists

• Sign up Log in

• Get the app
• Moscow concerts
• Change location
• Popular Artists
• Live streams
• Deutsch Português
• Popular artists

Jonathan Richman  

• On tour: yes
• Jonathan Richman is not playing near you. View all concerts
• Moscow, Russian Federation Change location

59,786 fans get concert alerts for this artist.

Join Songkick to track Jonathan Richman and get concert alerts when they play near you.

Nearest concert to you

Fernwood Resort

Touring outside your city

Be the first to know when they tour near Moscow, Russian Federation

Join 59,786 fans getting concert alerts for this artist

Upcoming concerts (3)

Henry Miller Memorial Library

Similar artists with upcoming concerts

Tours most with.

Jonathan Richman is a singer and songwriter hailing from Natick, Massachusetts, United States who was born on the 16th of May, 1951. He is known for fronting the influential proto-punk band The Modern Lovers, and for his extensive solo career in acoustic folk music.

Y’know the famous statement that The Velvet Underground only sold ten thousand copies of their debut album, but everyone who bought it formed a band? Well, Jonathan Richman was most definitely one of those ten thousand people who bought it. He had already started playing guitar and writing songs by the time he hit his mid-teens, but when he discovered the Velvet Underground he found that he knew what he wanted to do with his life, not just with his spare time. After growing up in Natick, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, he moved to New York City after he graduated from High School in 1969 and got to know the band, even sleeping on the sofa of the bands manager as he had nowhere else to go.

He eventually spent nine months in New York City before moving back to Boston. Inspired by the Velvets, he and his childhood friend John Felice formed the band The Modern Lovers in 1970 with Rolfe Anderson on the bass and David Robinson (who would later become a founding member of The Cars) on the drums. Robinson wasn’t the only member of the Lovers who would go on to have major success in other bands, though. After Felice and Anderson departed a year after they formed, they were replaced with Ernie Brooks on Bass and Jerry Harrison on Keyboards, and Harrison would later become a founding member of Art Rock legends Talking Heads.

With their new line-up the band became rising stars in their native Boston, thanks to Richman’s already burgeoning voice as a songwriter and their frantic live shows. The band started to get courted by several major labels and signed to Warner Brothers in 1973, after touring relentlessly and making a national sized name for themselves as a live act. However, the band were already growing tired of each other personally, then the band accepted an offer to play a residency at a venue in Bermuda and Richman became infatuated with the laid-back music he heard the locals playing. He started writing similar music and wanted to change the entire sound of the band to reflect it, but the rest of the group weren’t having any of it.

The Modern Lovers split in February 1974, before they’d officially released any music whatsoever. By the following year, Richman was recording as a solo singer/songwriter in California and released a few solo singles on the local Berkeley label. These didn’t take however, and by 1976 Richman had formed a new version of the Modern Lovers as his backing band, and it was at around this time that he started to see some serious commercial success in Europe. This was especially apparent in the United Kingdom, where his Modern Lovers single “Roadrunner” (a song which a nascent Sex Pistols were covering during their first ever shows and rehearsals) reached number 11 in the singles chart in late 1977, and its follow up “Egyptian Reggae” reached the top five a few months later.

After that, Richman spent the first years of the 1980’s on a self-imposed sabbatical, and then spent the rest of the decade alternating between solo releases and releases under the name of The Modern Lovers. His final release with The Modern Lovers came in 1988 and after that he began his solo career proper with 1990’s “Jonathan Goes Country”. The 1990’s were extremely kind to Richman, as his devout cult following was increased exponentially by a series of high profile appearances on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, and an appearance as one half of the Greek Chorus of the hit romantic comedy There’s Something About Mary.

He was also very prolific during that decade, releasing four albums between 1993 and 1998 and has continued releasing stellar records into the 2000’s. Ever since then, he’s been an artist with absolutely nothing to prove, who keeps playing and releasing records for no other reason than his all-consuming love of music. He remains influential to everyone from Joan Jett and the Sex Pistols to The Violent Femmes, Weezer and They Might Be Giants, so to see this man in action should be on the bucket list of every fan of alternative music in general. Highly Recommended.

Live reviews

Jonathan Richman is a singer, songwriter and guitar player from America. Part way through the 1970's he started to do a lot of solo work and some backing jobs, but before that he started 'The Modern lovers', which is an influential proto-punk band that he was part of for some time. He said that he was writing music and his own songs since the 1960's and found a huge love for music, which is clear in his facial expressions during performances. His first solo released recordings came out in 1975, with the backing from members of Earth Quake and the Rubinoos. The album Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers was released in 1976 with a new version of the group that he had put together. The album swayed away from the electric rock music that the band had originally used and started using more acoustic things, which it seems Richman has more of an interest in. After the bands final breakup, he returned to recording in 1983 and released a series of singles. He also went on to get involved with two-man Greek chorus with a drummer in the film 'There's Something About Mary', he even went on to appear in a bar scene in a previous Farrelly Brothers film called 'Kingpin', quite an interesting mixture of careers he managed to follow. I can't say I'm a huge fan of him, his performances are a bit too mellow and tame for my liking, but if you wanted something like that then you would probably enjoy seeing him perform on a stage.

Report as inappropriate

THE SHOW STARTED EARLY AND I WAS RUNNING VERY LATE!!! SO LATE THAT WHEN I GOT TO THE DOOR THE DOORMAN INFORMED ME THE SHOW WAS ALREADY OVER!!! I ASKED IF I COULD GO IN TO GET SOME PICTURES SIGNED I HAD TAKEN OF JONATHAN AT THE LAST SHOW,I WAS ALLOWED IN AND SAW THE DRUMMER PACKING UP AND ASKED AND RECIEVED HIS AUTOGRAPHS ON MY PICS OF HIM-I INQUIRED ABOUT JONATHAN AND WHEN THE DRUMMER FINISHED HE TOOK MY PICS TO JONATHAN-A FEW MINUTES LATER THE DRUMMER CAME OUT AND SAID JONATHAN WOULD LIKE TO SEE ME!!!! I WALKED IN HE ASKED MY NAME,SHOOK MY HAND AND SAID HE COULDN'T HAVE ONE OF HIS FANS TRAVEL SO FAR AND NOT GET TO HEAR HIM PLAY-I SAT ON THE COUCH HE PULLED OUT HIS GUITAR AND BEGAN TO PLAY A PRIVATE CONCERT JUST FOR ME!!!!! HE PLAYED MULTIPLE SONGS AS I SAT THERE AND MELTED INTO THE COUCH-A SMILE SO LARGE ON MY FACE AND MOISTURE IN THE CORNERS OF MY EYES-HERE WAS A MAN I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS PLAYING JUST FOR ME-HE SAID HE PLAYED SONGS FOR ME HE DIDN'T PLAY AT THE SHOW!!!!! HE THEN SIGNED ALL MY PICS AND FLATTERED ME EVEN MORE WHEN HE SAID HE REALLY LIKED THEM!!!! WE TALKED FOR A WHILE AND THEN IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO TRAVEL HALFWAY TO NEW ORLEANS AND FOR ME TO HEAD BACK GALVESTON WAY-I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE MAN OR THE NIGHT IT WAS PURE MAGIC AND JONATHAN WAS MAGICAL!!!!! THANKS JOJO FOR A NIGHT I WIL NEVER FORGET-----

Wonderful snowy Monday night in Saskatoon with Jonathan last night. A good turnout despite the weather and lots of competing events. Jonathan was in great form, riffing off his own songs and covers, adding in new words to delight the audience, and extending melodies more than once long enough to declare "we shouldn't play this song all night!... next!" Much Spanish flavour, with French, Italian and Ojibway thrown in! Intimate, warm show, with of course the everpresent accompanying drums of Tommy Larkins, often highlighted by Jonathan, in rhythmic solos.

Jonathan declared that he is happy to be in his mid-60s, that he is loving life and feels like a small child fascinated by everything, having to be dragged away by his parents, and many "middle aged" concerns were addressed in his lyrics, from too much discussion about wine (it was made for drinking!) and the need to get out of one's chair and move our bodies, our earthly temples.

It was nice to see Jonathan's sad-dog face lit up with twinkling eyes and beaming smile, with the room party atmosphere. In return, instead of leaving abruptly at the end of his set, a call for an encore brought another set of at least four songs. Too good of a time to stop!

He says he'll be back, that he really loves Saskatoon. And Saskatoon loves him back. A wonderful night.

Founder of The Modern Lovers and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Richman has had a long and intriguing career as he crosses the borders of rock and world music with a free spirited nature. Now in his 60s, he has a really fun sense of humour and does not seem to acknowledge his growing age as he performs like an artist who seems to totally grateful to be there.

Whereas in reality, Jonathan has been working for over 35 years to get to the place he now finds himself comfortably in. The room is a total sell out and fans old and new have gathered to hear the music from across the entirety of his career. He treats them to a cover of 'Old World' from his days with the Modern Lovers which goes down really well with the enthusiastic audience. His broad smile shows he is having a brilliant time too yet just to emphasise he thanks them time and time again. By the time the finale of 'As My Mother Lay Lying' comes to a close, it is difficult to see who is more reluctant to leave.

Any performer could learn a lot from Jonathan. Half the time he is playing guitar so softly that it is barely audible. He communicates entire narratives with the arch of an eyebrow. People laugh throughout more out of shared joy than anything else. If you go hoping to hear songs from JR’s impressive back catalogue you will be mostly disappointed. He is always evolving, always playing new numbers, and now sings approximately half the show in a language other than English. He did two or three numbers in a row in Italian, translating just enough to everyone got the idea. Also sang extensively in French, Spanish and others. Jonathan is an under appreciated guitar player. He uses a single acoustic (“so I don’t get confused”). In his hands the guitar is a communicative instrument filled with references to the past but constantly expressing new emotions. There is really no player like him.

Seeing Jonathan Richman is like... signing up for 2 hours of dancing and grinning from ear to ear. He tells wonderful stories and sings about lessons in life and love. If you want a relaxed, happy evening of beautiful acoustic guitar with drum accompaniment, look no further. He speaks affectionately of his younger years in New England, sings about his favorite painters (Van Gogh, Jan Vermeer), and loves to spice things up with songs in the "Love Languages" of Spanish, French and Italian... although this last show I think he even included some Arabic!

Regardless of what you're into... I'm not sure you could ever be disappointed spending 15 bucks to see J-Rich. He's a wonderful human being that puts on a terrific show sure to leave you smiling for hours.

I highly recommend seeing him if you've ever got the chance. He's absolutely a can't miss.

Jonathan Richman is mesmerizing. He is captivating. He treats music as a way to express his simple and beautiful poetry. More than anything, he is a character who makes himself known. Witnessing him is a privilege.

He plays a classical guitar, holding it without straps, which allows him to dance more freely. With Tommy Larkins on drums, they feel each other out for rhythms and play on each other's strengths.

Jonathan tells stories. He shares parts of his life, sometimes through song, sometimes through anecdotes between tunes.

He is entertaining and emotionally powerful. He will make you feel his words, his music.

If you prefer that performers simply regurgitate their recorded material verbatim, then Jonathan Richman is not for you. He expands his songs, he breaks them down and reassembles them. And he does it with high energy and wit.

With just a guitar and a small drum kit (both beautifully played) Jonathan and his drummer were able to create an infectious rhythm that dares you to be still.

This will be something I'll look back on with fondness and delight when I'm dignified and old.

Jonathan Richman has brass balls as a performance artist. He has only gained in greatness over the years. His songs are witty and stunning by turns, his guitar playing magnificent. You don't even have to know all the songs because you can always understand what he is saying. I was glad to see so many people still have the sense to come out and see this rare bird of paradise.

His usual charming self last night. Had everyone dancing and singing to Lesbian bar. Art students loved Vemeer. Awesome as always! He was very approachable after the show. I took some great pics. I could have listened to him all night. I wish he took requests but he doesn't. So many songs I love but so little time even with 2 hours on stage.

Posters (30)

Past concerts

St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art

The Blue Door

The Basement East

View all past concerts

Jonathan Richman tour dates and tickets 2024-2025 near you

Want to see Jonathan Richman in concert? Find information on all of Jonathan Richman’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2024-2025.

Jonathan Richman is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 3 concerts across 1 country in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

Next 3 concerts:

• Big Sur, CA, US

Next concert:

Popularity ranking:

• Adina Howard (6208)
• Jonathan Richman (6209)
• Steel Banglez (6210)

Concerts played in 2024:

Touring history

Most played:

• SF Bay Area (81)
• Los Angeles (LA) (58)
• New York (NYC) (48)
• Boston / Cambridge (33)
• London (24)

Appears most with:

• Tommy Larkins (169)
• Vic Chesnutt (20)
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (18)
• The Growlers (12)

Distance travelled:

Similar artists

• Most popular charts
• API information
• Brand guidelines
• Community guidelines
• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookies settings
• Cookies policy

Get your tour dates seen everywhere.

• But we really hope you love us.

Username or Email Address

Remember Me

High Road Touring

Jonathan Richman

• Agent Frank Riley [email protected]
• Agent Zachary Cepin [email protected]

North America, South America, Australia, Asia

Upcoming Tourdates

• May 16 Henry Miller Library Big Sur, CA
• May 17 HIPNIC @ Fernwood Campground Big Sur , CA
• May 18 HIPNIC @ Fernwood Campground Big Sur , CA
• Dec 06 Lodge Room Los Angeles, CA

“Richman is one of America’s most unique and dynamic songwriters…” – Nashville Scene “Richman didn’t need much else besides a beat to work his magic.” – New York Daily News

“Buy tickets early. Buy tickets often. This is just good general life advice, but even more so when you’re talking about Jonathan Richman. Don’t get denied at the door, don’t leave things up to chance: You will regret it.” – Nashville Scene

“Rhymes worthy of Ogden Nash.” – The New York Times

“Richman has spent decades removing barriers between himself and his audience, cultivating an intimacy that is almost extinct in modern music.”- Nashville Scene

“The music we’re doing now works well in quiet places like theaters and performing art centers. We still don’t use a program or a set list so we don’t know what we’ll do until we do it. Please do not expect old songs. Many singers my age do a retrospective; this show is not like that. It’s mostly stuff made up in the last 3 and 4 years. Some of the songs presented might be in different languages; this is not to be esoteric or clever, it’s because the different languages help me express different feelings sometimes. One last thing, my idea of a good show has nothing to do with applause. It’s about if all the songs I sang that night were ones that I felt.” – Jonathan

Video & Press

Spy review: jonathan richman at the avalon by mark pelavin.

[The Talbot Spy] By Mark Pelavin Rock icon Jonathan Richman, who delighted an appreciative crowd at the Avalon Theatre last week, was dancing like no one was watching long before most of us had ever heard the phrase. In addition to writing a slew of great songs about dancing, including the crowd favorite Dancing in a […]

Jonathan Richman’s Zebulon Love-In

[LA Weekly] By BRETT CALLWOOD Jonathan Richman’s Zebulon Love-In: Modern Lover Jonathan Richman might still be best known for proto-punk anthems “Roadrunner” and “Pablo Picasso,” but his career has taken him in all sorts of weird and wonderful directions since then. He’s a glorious kook — known for his wide eyes and childlike wonder (as written on Wiki), […]

Show Review: Jonathan Richman at Le National

[RX Music] By Matt Lipson Few performers would thrive on the minimal setup Jonathan Richman brought to his intimate show in Montreal on June 6, but the cult icon needed little more than an unplugged nylon string guitar and his drumming sidekick Tommy Larkins to charm the intimate audience. Richman, long known for his childlike […]

Jonathan Richman Releases New Album!

Go listen to Want To Visit My Inner House? at Bandcamp!

Jonathan Richman: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

[Aquarium Drunkard] I heard Jonathan Richman’s last full-length record, SA, about a year after it came out. It was not that I was avoiding it, I just missed its release. I had bumped into Jerry Harrison at a party at our mutual friend Jon Blaufarb’s house soon after he recorded with Jonathan. Their recordings would become […]

Jonathan Richman Announces New Project ‘Just a Spark, On Journey From The Dark’

[Pitchfork] The series will include new studio recordings, poetry, and more By Madison Bloom Jonathan Richman has announced a new project titled “Just a Spark, On Journey From The Dark.” The series kicks off September 1 on Bandcamp (via Blue Arrow Records). Each episode will feature new studio recordings, poetry, and more from Richman. There will also be occasional appearances […]

Muses: Jonathan Richman on Vermeer, Monet, and Custom Chords for Matisse

[ARTnews] By The Editors of ARTnews Jonathan Richman came up as a songwriter in the 1970s and has been noted for his love of art. In both his solo work and with his band the Modern Lovers, he has cited artists he reveres—e.g., in the Modern Lovers’ “Girlfriend”: “If I were to walk to the […]

Jonathan Richman Brims With Local Memories at the Middle East

[Boston Globe] By Rebecca Ostriker Jonathan Richman remembers being 16 and standing in Harvard Square, a portfolio of “pretentious artwork” in his hand. He misses Schoenhof’s Foreign Books, which closed the doors of its Cambridge shop last year — his “favorite bookstore,” the singer says, where he collected Italian adjectives and idiomatic expressions for a […]

Having a Party With Jonathan Richman

[Nashville Scene] An expert’s guide to enjoying one of rock’s great enigmas By Sean L. Maloney You’d think, by now, that I’d have run out of things to say about proto-punk prophet and great American troubadour Jonathan Richman. But nope. After my contribution of half a dozen articles of varying length and style, as well […]

Required information is noted with “*”. If you can provide the additional information requested, we would be grateful.

NOTE: If you are making an offer at the request of one of the agents in the High Road office, please state this in the “Additional notes” area, along with the name of the agent.

Note: If you do not have a specific date in mind, please write "mutually agreeable date" in the box above.

Offer Terms & Budget

Merchandise, production contact.

Jonathan Richman Verified

Concerts and tour dates, bandsintown merch.

Live Photos of Jonathan Richman

Fan reviews.

Fans Also Follow

About jonathan richman.

Jonathan Richman

How good are they live, live rating  , real live certified  , critic consensus, festivals in 2024, latest release, artist info, critic concert reviews, the boston globe (usa).

Full Review

Parklife DC (USA)

Sound of boston (usa), spectrum culture (usa), exclaim (canada), past critic reviews published in, image credit.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Sign up to our newsletter

Artists on tour.

Melanie Martinez

Graham Nash

Depeche Mode

The Lathums

Jason Isbell

Queens Of The Stone Age

all ArtiSTS

Featured festivals.

Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2024

Austin Psych Fest 2024

Groovin The Moo Canberra 2024

Summer Breeze Brazil 2024

Sick New World 2024

Groovin The Moo Bendigo 2024

All festivals.

How good are they LIVE?

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR Newsletter

• Live Review
• Local Spotlight
• Around Town
• Stars and Bars

Live Review: Jonathan Richman @ Lincoln Theatre — 10/14/22

Jonathan Richman (Photo by Angelina Castillo)

As I watched Jonathan Richman perform at the Lincoln Theater Friday night, it struck me how he has much in common with the late comedian Andy Kaufman. To be sure, Richman doesn’t share Kaufman’s penchant for playing games with and “working” his audience, to use a term from the parlance of professional wrestling, which Kaufman loved and was involved with.

But there’s a sweetness and a gentleness to both, which has sometimes been characterized as “childlike” or, in, Richman’s case maybe “simplistic.”

The “childlike” label seems fair, as Richman looks at the world with the same optimistic wonder that was present in Kaufman. But this should not be confused with simplicity, or naivete, as Richman — like Kaufman — is a highly intelligent man. He’s a fluent speaker of French, and he appreciates poetry so much that he has adapted multiple pieces to song. His set at the Lincoln Theatre on Oct. 14 included “He Gave Us Wine To Taste It,” based on a poem by the 13th-century Persian mystic, theologian, and scholar Rumi. He also performed a piece based on writing by the 15th-century Indian poet Kabir.

A native Bostonian — his thick accent is unmistakable — Richman grew up thinking he would become a painter, before turning his attention to music. In his late teens, he traveled to New York in search of his favorite band, The Velvet Underground. He ended staying on the couch of the band’s manager while he tried to start a music career. It didn’t work out, and he moved back to Boston. With the Modern Lovers, he released he first album in 1976, followed by a second a year later. These early albums were a mixture of proto-punk and rock’n’roll, a style he would deviate from in the course of his career.

Over the past several decades, Richman has eschewed loudness and electricity for a softer, acoustic style. At the Lincoln on Friday, he was accompanied on drums by Tommy Larkins, with whom he spoke of sharing an almost telepathic bond. Jonathan emphasized they work without a set list, and praised Larkins for his ability to intuitively follow him and guess where he’s going. 

Richman eschewed much of his early catalog, only including “That Summer Feeling,” “Affection,” and “The Fenway” from his Modern Lovers era. The set focused on the last several decades of his 50-year career. It wasn’t a conventional set; in addition to the standard banter between songs, many of the tunes were interspersed with spoken word tangents. At times, it wasn’t clear exactly where one song ended and another began. There was more than a little of vaudeville in his performance, especially when he danced during “New Kind of Neighborhood.”

Stream “New Kind of Neighborhood” by Jonathan Richman on YouTube:

The set began with “We’ll Be The Noise, We’ll Be The Scandal,” followed by “That Summer Feeling.” As Jonathan sang in French later (“Le printemps des amoureux est venu”), he interjected bits of English: “The spring tide of the lovers has returned so this dust bowl can be a garden once more,” and he compared the lovers’ smell to “sweat and salt and old fruit.” Introducing “Shameless, Shameless,” he shared his despair at how someone had stolen his bells right off the stage at a show in Athens, Georgia. 

Jonathan told the audience about his “want to save the world problem.” Sometimes, he said, he’ll go into a restaurant where no one is eating out of sympathy, only to be reminded there is a reason there’s no one in there. Jonathan has a big heart, which is evident in his the work he’s long done playing music for children in hospitals. I can relate to Jonathan; I find my heart wrenched easily, so much so that I have to avoid certain things, especially certain commercials on cable, or my day can just be ruined. I often feel like I should do more for the world and for others, but I’m also struggling, pretty hard, just to take care of myself. There are days when I have trouble with really basic stuff, like remembering that sometimes you have to put a lid on a pot of water to get it to boil.

“Everyone Loves Dolly,” paid tribute to country music’s queen. An instrumental, “Guitar in Orange and Drums in Pale Purple,” took its title from the colors the music evoked for Jonathan and Tommy. “The Fenway” conjured Jonathan’s memories of the ballpark where he went to see his beloved Red Sox. I’m not a baseball fan, but art based around the sport is almost its own genre, and I truly love some of it, like Joseph Kinsella’s magic realist novel Shoeless Joe , which became Field of Dreams. (I suspect there are more stories and movies about baseball than other sports because the relatively glacial pace and lower level of action make it a lot easier to depict.)

The set also included “O Mind! Let Us Go Home!”,  a Spanish poem set to music, “¿A qué venimos sinó a caer?”, and ended with “Cold Pizza.” For his encore, Jonathan sang “I Had To See the Harm I’d Done Before I Could Change.” It was an interesting choice, a bit more somber and more serious than much of the set, for him to end the evening with. Beneath all the silliness and the shtick, though, there’s a real serious and serious intelligence to Jonathan Richman, and he’s one of the unique figures, even in music, a world full of unique figures.

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Our Partners
• Thrushie Awards

Americana Highways

on the road collecting the stories of Americana music

REVIEW: Jonathan Richman “Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers”

Jonathan Richman – Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers

Considering the band name in regard to this reissue it’s peculiar that the opening instrumental sounds more like it’s from a Japanese romance movie. But, taken as a whole it’s intriguing & retains the pop-attractiveness that Jonathan Richman’s music often exemplifies. The music is somewhat amateurish at times but its innovation is unmistakable. It’s what sets it apart from garage-rock bands & wannabes who just perform aimlessly.

Big Star with the late Alex Chilton was similar. Originally produced in 1977 & recorded in San Francisco by Matthew King Kaufman & Glen Kolotkin Rock ‘n’ Roll With The Modern Lovers (Drops Sept 16–Omnivore Reissue) is part of a series of 4 Jonathan Richman (vocals/guitar) reissues.

This 35-minute set with 13 tracks has no bonus cuts or alternate takes, unlike so many other bands’ reissues. Upon its original issue, it wasn’t met with the acclaim of the first. So, a few bonus pieces may have attracted a wider audience net.

“Rockin’ Rockin’ Leprechauns” is pure novelty but Richman rocks out with vigor & the sax (no credit) turn is typical 60s gusto similar to The Rockin’ Rebels’ instrumental “Wild Weekend.”

The music exudes what many bands leave out of their music since rock got more serious. It deletes the element of fun, youth & innocence. It inserts anger, protest & aggression. New wave was melodic & slick, punk was down & dirty. Rock as we had known it became highbrow – the Electric Light Orchestra & Emerson, Lake & Palmer with orchestrations & dives into classical music, huh? The Who with rock operas, The Rolling Stones & Elton John with their detour into disco-soul & funk. The rock of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry & Little Richard was a far cry from this bunch. Some would redeem themselves.

Richman tried to capture the ‘roll’ & return it to rock’s simplicity again. Its essence lies in the spaces between doo-wop & the British Invasion.

This was a sophomore LP & by cut 5 “Afternoon” the quality improved, the playing more precise & well-recorded. It’s simplistic, not silly. The songs aren’t classics individually as the genre Richman shaped with this repertoire. Still in a quasi-Oriental motif musically the approach was challenging. A nice departure for 1977.

Not everything was memorable or needed to be. JR filled a void few musicians explored while still supporting an earlier rock formula. For some fans of rock music, this set is a stretch but there are little shiny jewels mixed in the sand. Dig.

Highlights – the traditional “South American Folk Song,” & “The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng),” with Richman originals — “Roller Coaster By the Sea,” “Summer Morning,” “Egyptian Reggae” & “Afternoon.”

The band – Greg ‘Curly’ Keranen (bass/vocals), Leroy Radcliffe (guitar/vocals) & D. Sharpe (drums/vocals). Photo courtesy of Jonathan Richman. CD @ https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/rock-n-roll /

Share this:

1 thought on “ review: jonathan richman “rock ‘n’ roll with the modern lovers” ”.

• Pingback: REVIEW: “The Modern Lovers Live” • Americana Highways

Leave a Reply! Cancel reply

Hello Quality Music Lovers!

Appreciate what we do?   

Thank you so very much for your continued sup port!!!  

https://www.paypal.me/AmericanaHighways

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2449630646239232992

Help us keep the WiFi on!

Contact us at [email protected] for an ad rate sheet!

Discover more from Americana Highways

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Statistics Stats
• You are here:
• Richman, Jonathan
• October 17, 2022 Setlist

Jonathan Richman Setlist at The Opera House, Brooklyn, NY, USA

• Edit setlist songs
• Edit venue & date
• Edit set times
• Add to festival
• Report setlist

Tour: LIVE! ON STAGE Tour statistics Add setlist

• Affection ( Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers  song) Play Video
• In che mondo viviamo Play Video
• Egyptian Reggae ( Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers  song) Play Video
• La fiesta es para todos Play Video
• Old World ( The Modern Lovers  song) Play Video
• That Summer Feeling ( Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers  song) Play Video
• Shameless, Shameless Play Video
• Le printemps des amoureux est venue Play Video
• La festa è galactica Play Video
• I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar Play Video
• I'm in a Dancing Mood Play Video
• New Kind of Neighborhood Play Video
• They Showed Me the Door to Bohemia Play Video
• Just a Spark, On Journey From the Dark Play Video
• O Sun! Play Video
• When We Refuse to Suffer Play Video
• Nishi Play Video

Edits and Comments

4 activities (last edit by earfdae , 24 Oct 2022, 16:36 Etc/UTC )

Jonathan Richman

More from this artist.

• More Setlists
• Artist Statistics
• Add setlist

4 people were there

Share or embed this setlist.

Use this setlist for your event review and get all updates automatically!

<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jonathan-richman/2022/the-opera-house-brooklyn-ny-1bb14dc0.html" title="Jonathan Richman Setlist The Opera House, Brooklyn, NY, USA 2022, LIVE! ON STAGE" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bb14dc0" alt="Jonathan Richman Setlist The Opera House, Brooklyn, NY, USA 2022, LIVE! ON STAGE" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bb14dc0&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/jonathan-richman-4bd79fa2.html">More Jonathan Richman setlists</a></div></div>

Last.fm Event Review

[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jonathan-richman/2022/the-opera-house-brooklyn-ny-1bb14dc0.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=1bb14dc0[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=1bb14dc0&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/jonathan-richman-4bd79fa2.html]More Jonathan Richman setlists[/url]

Tour Update

Marquee memories: alien ant farm.

• Alien Ant Farm
• Apr 26, 2024
• Apr 25, 2024
• Apr 24, 2024
• Apr 23, 2024
• Apr 22, 2024
• Apr 21, 2024
• FAQ | Help | About
• Terms of Service
• Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
• Feature requests
• Songtexte.com

Jonathan Richman Fall Tour 2023

Here’s what Jonathan’s been up to this summer…. Now, he’s back to music:

• February 2024  (1)
• August 2023  (1)
• July 2023  (1)
• May 2023  (4)
• January 2023  (1)
• November 2022  (1)
• October 2022  (1)
• September 2022  (1)
• July 2022  (1)
• May 2022  (1)
• April 2022  (1)
• December 2021  (2)
• July 2021  (2)
• June 2021  (1)
• April 2021  (1)
• March 2021  (3)
• December 2020  (2)
• October 2020  (1)
• September 2020  (1)
• August 2020  (3)
• April 2020  (1)
• March 2020  (1)
• November 2019  (1)
• October 2019  (1)
• September 2019  (1)
• May 2019  (1)
• April 2019  (1)
• February 2019  (1)
• December 2018  (1)
• August 2018  (1)
• April 2018  (4)
• June 2017  (1)
• May 2017  (1)
• November 2016  (2)
• August 2016  (1)
• June 2016  (3)
• May 2016  (1)
• April 2016  (1)
• February 2016  (1)
• Events (24)
• Jonathan Richman (18)
• New Release (11)
• New Stock (1)
• Uncategorized (5)

The Divine Shows Up: Jonathan Richman

At an almost-full Wilbur Theater on a tense Thursday night, just as Celtics fans down the road roared  at the tip off in the 2022 NBA finals, an equally enthusiastic crowd saw Jonathan Richman stumble on stage. 

Even at 71 years old, his loose limbs were flying every which way like a growing teenager. Looking everyone in the front row in the eye, he was met by an enormous applause. His boyish grin and bashful charisma shone brightly, immediately removing any distance from him and the audience. 

The stage was as stripped down as it could get. Richman, former frontman of the proto-punk band The Modern Lovers , played his small acoustic guitar strapless to allow for easy guitar spins and intermittent dance breaks, and Tommy Larkins opted for just two congas instead of his regular full drum set. “I never go anywhere without him,” said Richman about Larkins, his regular performance partner, who provided gentle percussive undertones to the set, at times barely stroking the drum heads. In Richman’s guitar and voice, modestly amplified, you could feel every acoustic quirk and hear his calluses dance along the nylon strings. The audience leaned in. 

Equal parts performer, orator, storyteller, philosopher, and musician, he sang, sometimes unexpectedly in Italian, French, Spanish, or Hindi, conversed with the audience, and offered intermittent snippets of wisdom such as “surrender the things of youth gracefully,” without pretension or obliqueness. He went where the spirit took him, and when he felt that spirit compelled him to dance, he threw up his arms and went for it. The audience, people of all different age groups, recognized this pure and honest self expression. Even if some were itching to hear some of his hits, such as “ I was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar ” or “ That Summer Feeling ,” they were nonetheless captivated. 

The set opened with “ No one was Like Vermeer ” and showcased Richman’s jangly but lyrical guitar style and rambling, storytelling singing. Originally from the Boston suburbs, Richman continued the set with a nostalgic homage to the city in “ Fenway .” Standing in the heart of Boston at the Wilbur, he delivered the lyrics: “I was born by the Fenway in Beth Israel Hospital / Could that help to explain why I love the Fenway so well / Nowhere do I feel more at home it seems / Than on the Fenway where I dreamed my dreams,” and pierced the hearts of everyone in the audience. His party tunes, such as “I was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar,” were defined by their catchy hooks, rhythmic, aggressive strumming, and Larkins’ undeniable conga grooves. Rather than on-rails pop-tunes, his party numbers are vessels for him to express himself through music, dance, and monologue, fusing silly and sincere. 

His songs, which vary between deep introspections, nostalgic ballads, light social criticism, off-the-cuff spoken word improvisations, and party anthems, managed to maintain a consistent mood throughout when placed next to each other in the set. In his introspective songs, such as “ When We Refuse to Suffer ,” he encouraged everyone to feel their emotions to their fullest extent when he sang, “When we refuse to feel / Your life becomes a bore / and you’re suffering even more.” He often peppered his songs with philosophical interjections such as “remove the veil of the inner world,” instructing the audience to abandon their petty vanities and egos. In the following song, “ Me and Her and the Beach ,” a catchy singalong, he demonstrated that abandonment first hand, by suddenly ditching the tune for an unbridled dance break. Infectious and joyful, he embodied the energy of a playful child who didn’t care what the adults in the room thought of him.

Many of the songs were from his most recent album “ Want to Visit my Inner House? ” whose name is emblematic of the doctrine that Richman brings to his performances, exposing the inner self, demolishing the ego, and inviting the audience into his world. Towards the end of the concert Richman was joined on stage by his wife, Nicole Montalbano, playing tanpura, an Indian drone instrument, which immediately took the atmosphere of the concert in a ruminative, modal direction. The trio performed the title track of the newest album, as well as texts from the 15th century Indian mystic and poet Kabir Das set to music. Leaning more heavily into his philosophical side, he dotted this part of the set with more off the cuff wisdom. “When the ego is there, the divine won’t show up,” he said, as if letting the audience in on a profound secret. He rounded out the concert with “I was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar,” which  brought the crowd to its feet, and ended the night on an achingly introspective note with “ I Had To See The Harm I’d Done Before I Could Change .” 

It may be true, as Richman declared, that no one was like Vermeer. But if being unique is a matter of abandoning your ego, allowing your inner “divine” to shine through, and throwing in a healthy dose of guitar wizardry with a dash of comedy and dance, then today, no one is like Jonathan Richman.

LIVE! ON STAGE: JONATHAN RICHMAN featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums!

Jonathan Richman

Latest setlist, jonathan richman on march 19, 2024.

The Blue Door, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Note: Setlist in rough order and possibly incomplete

Popular Tracks