better than ever

Jonathan Richman Dancing (Bowery Ballroom 6/12/12) by Dean Peterson via

NEW YORK CITY - Dean Wareham at Salon on Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom (June 12, 2012):

Last night I saw Jonathan Richman perform at Bowery Ballroom in New York. I counted myself lucky that he pulled out not only “Egyptian Reggae” (a U.K. hit for him in 1977), but also “Old World,” which dates from that first album, but also appeared — in a new stripped-down version with fresh lyrics — on his excellent album “Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild.” He is an amazing and unique live performer, in recent years playing a nylon acoustic guitar and accompanied only by Tommy Larkin on drums (playing quietly). His guitar playing is better than ever; he never gets too far from the melody but there is a dazzling fluidity to his fretwork that I never noticed before. There are also moments where he puts down the guitar, picks up the jingle bells, and dances, before ending with a flourish and a smile that recalls his hero Harpo Marx.

Read the rest of this lovely appreciation at Salon: Dean Wareham: My Jonathan Richman romance

Dean Wareham has long been covering Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste" arranged into a galloping power-trance with Galaxie 500 and Dean & Britta:

Dean & Britta [Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500] - Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste via

Here's Jonathan singing this song in stark a cappella in its Original Modern Lovers incarnation:

The Modern Lovers - Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste via

See more Jonathan Richman covers (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean & Britta) at Head Full of Wishes on a post honoring Jonathan's 61st birthday last month here