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11 November 2010
It’s interesting watching the evolution of a musician. Rarely does the opportunity arise to chart their progress right from the beginning but, having seen Josh Ritter’s very first performance on this side of the Atlantic all those years ago in Dublin, there’s a longer trajectory to work with here. On that night, the ever-affable Idahoian was a shy young man in a plaid shirt, blushing at every round of applause. Almost ten years later and here he comes, bounding from the Barbican’s stage right, bouncing on the spot in front of the microphone, barely able to contain his excitement. Actually, unable to contain his excitement as he utters the endearingly uncool words “I’m so excited!” Maybe nobody ever told Josh Ritter that singer/songwriters tend to be a moody, detached bunch. His puppyish enthusiasm and joy are refreshing, to say the least. It’s very much in the spirit of the evening, coming on the heels of a brilliant half an hour from his wife, Dawn Landes, another adorably enthusiastic musician with bags of charm. They would seem to be the perfect couple, an anti-Sid and Nancy. Ritter’s fans are a devoted bunch and he repays them, dipping back early on with older favourites such as ‘The Other Side’ and then really delivering later with ‘Kathleen’, ‘Roll On’ and ‘Harrisburg’ which segued midway into a stunning version of ‘Once In A Lifetime’, complete with a hilarious improvised line about trying to find the way into The Barbican.
As is always the case with Josh Ritter, it’s the tender, more melancholy moments that really stand out. ‘The Curse’ from his superb new record (probably his best since Hello Starling) is utterly beautiful, a poignant story of impossible love that doesn’t so much break the heart as gently embrace it until it implodes from the weight. A new song about the folly of Sir Galahad’s quest for the Holy Grail and a duplicitous angel who guards it is as funny as it is brilliant, especially when the angel warns Sir Galahad “In heaven there’s no lamb chops, Queen Guinevere’s for hand jobs, marijuana, Kenny Rogers or ecstasy.” It would take a steel heart not to be warmed when he returned for the encore with Dawn Landes for a duet of Hedy West’s ‘500 Miles’, one of the highlights of the night. So, over the years, Ritter has become an engaging, effortlessly entertaining performer, albeit one with enough goofy charm to prevent his shows ever becoming slick. The shows are a far cry from his early days but the heart beating beneath is the exact same.