next week in London: an evening with The Modern Ovens, rock food, and avian sex

The Modern Ovens - 'Astral Plane' via AliceBarfield

If you're in USA West Coast next week, then of course you should see Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins at any of a number of places (see sidebar). But if you're in UK on the other side of the astral plane at that time, why not snag a ticket to see The Modern Ovens perform as well as experience an evening of erudition about bird love and learn about a worthy charity cookbook?

Via The Quietus: Monday, 5 December- Brighton-based British Sea Power's Jonathan Richman tribute group The Modern Ovens, Klüb Gütenberg at The Old Queen's Head, London (tix) (read more)

Astral Plane

"They sure sound like a HOT band!" - Jonathan Richman (via)

Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins 2012 UK tour dates

April 24, 2010- Buenos Aires, Argentina: the amazing painter-performance artist Malcolm Roxs with JONATHAN RICHMAN via DIARY OF DEMOLITION

Satisfied Mind

~~~~~~2012 UK~~~~~~

Please let us know if you find more tour dates!

Thu 23 Feb Bangor, Gwynedd UK Hendre Hall (tix)
Sat 25 Feb Queens Road, Leeds UK The Brudenell Social Club (tix)
Sun 26 Feb Liverpool UK The Kazimier (tix)
Tue 28 Feb Cardiff UK Clwb Ifor Bach (tix)
Wed 29 Feb Shepherds Bush, London UK Bush Hall (tix)
Thu 1 Mar Powis Square, London UK The Tabernacle (tix)
Fri 2 Mar Islington, London UK Union Chapel (tix)

Update: Europe (more dates anticipated)

Tue 6 Mar Frankfurt, Germany Sinkkasten Arts Club (tix- no info)
Mon 26 Mar Feyzin, France L'Epicerie Moderne (tix) w/ Zak Laughed
Thu 29 Mar Paris, France La Flèche d'or (tix)

Confirm with venue before making travel plans

faster miles an hour

Image: Rhythm & Pencil Vol.00000000000001

The Daily Guru rhapsodizes and expounds upon teenage Jonathan Richman's classic Modern Lovers song: The simple chord progression found on "Roadrunner" bears an uncanny resemblance to that of "Sister Ray" by The Velvet Underground, and yet Richman manages to give this arrangement a fresh kick, stripping it down to a more basic and powerful sound.  As the chords ring across the track, one can almost hear him "creating" the punk rock style that would explode a few years later, and in many ways, punk rock was never better or more pure than this single performance.

Read more on The Daily Guru

• Roadrunner on Ramon's web site (note the updated URL- Ramon recently moved the entire (Unofficial) Jonathan Richman Chords page)

Fast-forward a few decades (oh my, where does the time go?) –

Of the more recent September 25, 2011 show in Portland, Oregon, Holly Homan writes: The final song, Sa Voix M’Atisse, also from his latest album, was sung entirely in French. But he didn’t leave the stage for long. He returned for an encore and began pointing out people in the audience and singing lines about them. “See that girl with the digital camera. I bet she knows how to go on the computer. All right. See the girl with the tattoos. I bet she knows how to grow organic corn. See the guy with the pork pie hat on. He left his camera out on the lawn. But it’s all right". This elicited enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

Read more on East Portland Blog, great videos and pictures too

December 2011 Tour Dates

USA, West Coast

Fri 2 Dec Olympia WA Olympia Film Society (tix)
Sat 3 Dec Eugene OR Sam Bonds Garage (tix- no info)
Mon 5 Dec San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall (tix) with The Sea and Cake and Lia Ices
Tue 6 Dec Sacramento CA Blue Lamp (tix- no info)
Wed 7 Dec San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall (tix)
Thu 8 Dec Santa Ana CA Galaxy Theatre: The Constellation Room (tix)
Fri 9 Dec Los Angeles CA The Smell (tix only available at door on night of show)
Sat 10 Dec Visalla CA Cellar Door (tix)
Sun 11 Dec Santa Cruz CA The Catalyst Atrium (tix)

Confirm with venue before making travel plans

the door to Bohemia

Bohemia by Jonathan Richman at The Haunt in Ithaca, 24 October 2011, via Armin Heurich

Armin Heurich says Jonathan hasn't been to Ithaca, NY in 19 years. This was the last song of the show.

My parents didn’t stand in my way when I was 16 years old… They knew I had to find, they knew I was pining, for the door to the art world… They knew that I had to find the door — to Bohemia.  I had my pretentious artwork, but my parents didn’t laugh too bad… I needed to be reined in once in a while.  But they didn’t have a hateful vibe, they didn’t demean.  In fact, I’m grateful because they didn’t… stand in my way, when I was — standin’ in Harvard Square, pretentious artwork in my hand.  The New York hipsters saw me standin’ there, and they knew this young man was looking for the door…. To Bohemia.  There I was standin’ in the square, pretentious artwork folio, but they knew I had to find the way…. To Bohemia.


I was bratty.  Bratty… but sincere.  Yes, I was bratty… But I had to know, they knew I had to go.  Pretentious Artwork Folio, it showed me the door, to Bohemia.  High school was night.  But they showed me light.  When they helped me find the door to Bohemia.  Desperate, desperate, hook or crook… I searched for Bohemia in the high school dusty art book.  Faintly, faintly, conjured I — I searched for Bohemia in the darkened Boston sky.  And once they saw that I wouldn’t back down, well they showed me the door to Bohemia.

Bohemia transcript from Moonraking- read Moonraking's account and thoughts of the show at The Bishop in Bloomington last Friday (28 October, 2011), including his reading of the song "Bohemia" here

I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar at The Haunt in Ithaca, 24 October 2011, via Armin Heurich

• shaka tron had a memorable encounter with Jonathan at The Bell House in Brooklyn (22 October, 2011).

• Jonathan helped mop up the place at The Union in Athens, Ohio on 26 October, 2011.