At TV studio in Toronto

Two good videos in youtube with Brennan Totten and Johnny Avila performing Vincent Van Gogh and When Harpo plays his harp
Date unknown, according to Bob's webpage they were performing at Toronto in November 1988.

At Henry Miller Library, Big Sur CA, 16th May 2010

No better way to celebrate his birthday than performing live!
In youtube there are three high quality videos with Jonathan and Tommy performing:

City lights (?). Silence alors, silence.



Keith Richards. No one was like Vermeer.

Because her beauty is raw and wild. Time keeps moving on.

Happy birthday Jojo!

My answer to Chimaerandi, a picture paints a thousand words:

Happy birthday, Jonathan!

Our JoJo is 59 years young today! I was thinking/hoping that we could use this occasion to share some of our memories and thoughts about our own beloved Jonathan.

Anyone?

Okay, I'll go first.

I've been a fan of Jonathan Richman for so long that sometimes it seems weird to me to imagine a time before I even knew who he was. (Granted, I have nothing on some of the people here, but cut me some slack, I'm only 23). What Jonathan is to me, to sound totally hokey, is a force of optimism in my generally cynical life. Listening to him makes me happy, for reasons I can't explain. I love to share him with people, to take them to his concerts, to try and spread some of the joy that his music gives me. Because I think that's what music is all about, really, sharing a piece of ourselves with someone else and hoping they understand.

Jonathan was so kind to me when I met him a while ago, about a year and a half, maybe. I've never forgotten that, after meeting a handful of musicians in my life, he was by far the nicest. I don't know why it matters so much, but somehow it does. One thing I have noticed about Jonathan fans is that very few people seem to feel ambivalent about him. In the most random places in my life, I have mentioned Jonathan, only to hear someone go "Oh my God, I love him!" out of the blue, so excited to have discovered that someone else is in on the secret. Actually, just today, I posted something at a group I'm a member of, and someone responded "Oh God, he's so adorable." Never from people I would expect it from.

I'm selfish enough that I hope he never retires, so I can keep sharing him with people and making them fall in love with his music too.

Happy birthday, Jonathan.

Dutch shows from 1977-78

Thanks to always searching for music you can download the MP3 files of these shows:

- Amigos De Musica, VPRO Radio, Netherlands, 4th May 1978

- Pinkpop, KRO Radio, Netherlands, 15th May 1978

- VPRO, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1978

Also, Paradiso, Amsterdam, 24th September 1977 is available at www.megaupload.com/?d=PB7QAVUB

Paradiso setlist:

I'm a little Dinosaur
Ice Cream Man
Ancient Long Ago
I'm a little Airplane
South American Folk Song
Here we are in Ancient Egypt
Pretty Little Girl
Hello Josephine
New England
Back in the USA
Astral Plane
Roadrunner

(I'm not sure if the last 3 songs are from the same show)

Enjoy!