Review from DC

Caroline P went to go see Jonathan in DC, for the first time in almost 20 years. She emailed me her impressions of the show:

I am just back from Jonathan's concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, and I thought I'd take you up on your offer to write a review. But, let me preface this email by saying that I was a huge Jonathan fan in the 80's, and this was the first time I had seen him perform since 1990, when I saw him last in Berkeley. Back in the 80's when I was in college, I saw Jonathan in London and numerous times at McCabes guitar shop in LA, where he performed regularly. At those performances in LA, he'd usually come out afterwards and stand around, allowing people to go up to him and say hello a chat a tiny bit (which I did!).

So, with this history, I didn't know what to expect. Would I be disappointed with all of those memories of past performances? I loved all those songs from the 80s -- Ice Cream Man, That Summer Feeling, Give Paris One More Chance, Back in Your Life, etc..., so how would I feel about his music from the 90s and today?

The answer to how I felt, in a word, is awestruck. Jonathan was amazing tonight. He sang in French, Hebrew, and Spanish, and he danced up a storm, which had the whole place clapping and moving (he does like people to dance, you know). The highlight of the evening for me was his performance of I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar. There was a synergy with the audience that was magic. He kept the song going on and on, alternately playing the guitar, then putting it down and dancing (while we sang along), all very reminiscent of the "one more time" of Ice Cream Man.

When he said goodnight, the audience was clearly disappointed, and Jonathan truly seemed touched. He came out with an encore, a slow song (More to love than be loved, I think) to help calm us down.

Jonathan is still amazing, just like he always was. He has that special ability to infuse a room with pure joy, and he clearly still loves what he does. He and Tommy together are outstanding, and I hope that they never stop performing.

Thank you, Jonathan!


Pictures are actually from Chicago, and from the very talented Robert Loerzal.

If you have any desire to write a show review, just email me!