60Gs Special: MJ Lenderman

Tricky called it “pre-millennium tension” for his classic 1996 album. So, maybe we’ll call it “pre-election anxiety” (or just outright fear and loathing) in 2024. Especially for the 6OGs living here in DC — where we can’t really be sure what will happen come next week in any sense — focusing on listening to, seeing, and writing about music feels like the only way to stay sane (and as OG Brian said in his last post - “I won’t say who to vote for, but look at the candidates running for national, state, and local offices, and ask yourself this question - who is best equipped to keep our economy, health care system, and social safety net from crumbling into ruin (or even, heaven forbid, improve all those things and more)? Then, go fucking vote for that person.”)

So for this post, we have a chance to feature a single album that is a down-the-middle fastball for the 6OGs, so much that 4 of the 6 of us were at the show that Brian writes about below. And if we are honest, hard to imagine anyone reading about 3 albums on their own this week. So let’s give due to what will likely be at the top of many of the 6OGs Best of 2024 lists and, frankly, one of the people who actually makes America great, with a couple of related bonus records thrown in for good measure.

God help us all during the week to come, and may music keep healing us and bringing us together no matter what happens.

New album AND album from an upcoming/recent show: Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman (Bonus: Dancing on the Edge by Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band; Double Bonus: Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon). I know you’re thinking it. We’ve all been thinking it here at 6OG HQ. It’s OK to think it, because I’m about to say it. Well, technically, I’m about to ask it.

How is it that we, the esteemed writers at 3Albums6OldGuys, are quite literally the only online music publication that has yet to opine about MJ Lenderman’s latest album, Manning Fireworks, released all the way back on September 6, long before my beloved New York Mets Grimace’d their way to unexpected October success? After all, we’ve been on Team Wednesday and Team Lenderman from the beginning, seeing him live numerous times - both solo and as guitarist for Wednesday - at DC venues like DC9, The Howard Theatre, Black Cat, and the 9:30 Club. All of Lenderman’s and Wednesday’s recent albums featured prominently in our year-end rankings (I personally had Boat Songs as my favorite album of 2022 and Rat Saw God as my favorite of 2023, and I also noted Lenderman’s Live and Loose! as my favorite live album of 2023). Yet September came and went, along with the Manning Fireworks album release cycle, and we published nary a word.

Well, the joke’s on you! We’ve been saving it for a special occasion. Specifically, MJ Lenderman’s recent show at the 9:30 Club, backed by his band The Wind and supported by opener Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. Really, this was totally planned.

I’ll start with a brief(ish) note about opener Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band - these guys and gal are really good, and given their brand of alt-country that straddles the line between disciplined and chaotic in concert, I’m embarrassed that I wasn’t familiar with them or their terrific 2023 album Dancing on the Edge. Davis, a Kentucky-based singer-songwriter, previously led the alt-country band State Champion. Highlights from both Dancing on the Edge and their opening set include “Flashes of Orange,” “Learn 2 Re-Luv,” and “Junk Drawer Heart.” Davis’ twangy rock is squarely in my wheelhouse, and while he loves an extended jam (several tracks are in the 8- to-9-minute range), I dig what he and the Roadhouse Band are doing on the album and on stage.

MJ Lenderman and the Wind then came out for the main set, with Jake (as he’s called by his friends, which I am definitely not) looking like his usual laconic self in his standard faded graphic tee. Not surprisingly, their setlist contained all the songs on the excellent Manning Fireworks, starting with “Wristwatch,” “Joker Lips,” and “Rudolph,” three of the album’s standout tracks. A great kick-off to the show. After turning to a few older songs, which I’ll get to later, came two more songs from Manning Fireworks - the lead single “She’s Leaving You,” a catchy alt-country song about a breakup and a Vegas trip, followed by “Rip Torn,” a downbeat country number about dealing with the excesses of the night before.

The title track was a mid-tempo song that sets up the album’s themes about masculinity (“You once was a baby and now a jerk / Standing close to the pyre manning fireworks”), followed immediately by “On Your Knees,” a country-rocker reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo. “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In” mixed lyrics evoking extremely American images (“It’s a Sunday at the water park / We sat under a half mast McDonald’s flag”) with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-style guitar (something else I’ll get to later). Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band came out to join Lenderman & the Wind for an energetic performance of “Bark at the Moon,” a song about a guy dealing with his girl leaving for the big city by getting drunk and playing the titular Ozzy Osbourne song on Guitar Hero.

Lenderman sprinkled in songs from his previous solo albums throughout the main set, starting with the rocker “Inappropriate” from 2019’s Ghost of Your Guitar Solo, which was immediately followed by the chord-heavy growler “SUV” from Boat Songs. “You Have Bought Yourself a Boat” seemed to get the most enthusiastic response from the crowd during the main set (although “TLC Cage Match” may have been a close second). The quirky “Catholic Priest” made for an interesting transition into “She’s Leaving You,” while EP tracks “Basketball #2” and “No Mercy” were surprises.

Lenderman, an Asheville, NC, native and lifelong resident, played a beautiful new song, “Pianos,” from the remarkable compilation/fundraising album Cardinals at the Window, which features well over 100 artists and clocks in at over 600 minutes of music (including The War on Drugs, Rosali, Deer Tick, R.E.M., Waxahatchee, and Superchunk), the proceeds of which go to organizations supporting those affected by Hurricane Helene. Closing out the main set were the Built to Spill-inspired “You are Every Girl to Me” from Boat Songs and “Knockin,” a 2023 single reminiscent of Drive- By Truckers about golfer John Daly singing a cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

And then came the encore, three songs that blew the goddamn roof off. First was Dan Marino,” the witty, low-fi on record but rockin’ live song about Lenderman’s father seeing the Hall of Fame quarterback “at a Harris Teeter in South Carolina” that he claims is a true story and dedicated to his sister, who was in attendance that night. The next, also from Boat Songs, was “Tastes Just Like it Costs,” conveying as much of a churning, fuzz-soaked Neil Young vibe when performed live as it does on the record.

For the final song, Lenderman brought Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band back out to the stage and promised something special, given that it was Halloween eve (while also crudely - and appropriately - dismissing one fan’s suggestion of “Monster Mash”). The whole crew then launched into an absolutely raucous cover of “Werewolves of London” from 1978’s “Excitable Boy” (naturally causing me to grin ear-to-ear, as the 6OGs house Zevon fan), with Davis on lead vocals and replacing “Lon Chaney” in the fourth verse with DC punk legends like Ian MacKaye, Bad Brains, and Ted Leo (and, uh, Marion Barry).

I’m not adding anything new to the Manning Fireworks discourse when I say that it’s an amazing album showing real growth in Lenderman’s songwriting which, to be fair, was strong to begin with. As for the show, it started off great. The songs were tight, and Lenderman and the band were dialed in, albeit not as relaxed and loose as they had been in the past. It was noticeable, but it didn’t affect the music, which I have to stress was typically great. Then there was a vibe shift after “Bark at the Moon.” The tone was a little more self-serious, maybe self-indulgent. It was just… off.

I thought there was a lively bounceback on “Knockin,” which Lenderman repeatedly said was the last song of the night. And then the house lights came up while the final notes were still being played. Was this just an error or were they ready to go? Was the club telling them not to let the door hit them on the way out? Was Lenderman’s heart just not in it that night? But the lights went back down and then came that banger of an encore.

Expectations play an important role in live music. I go to an MJ Lenderman show expecting the “Live and Loose!” experience, with Lenderman and his band essentially being the faded graphic tee of indie rock. We only really got that chill version of MJ Lenderman during the encore, despite some very good to great performances during the main set. But maybe he’s adjusting to the size of the venue (which he has played with Wednesday but never solo) or with the attention of being The Man. Or maybe he’s mentally drained from Hurricane Helene decimating his hometown. Maybe Lenderman could be trying to grow as an artist, and the problem is me and my expectations. Maybe Lenderman wants to get a little more serious, and possibly even a little experimental. Thankfully Jake (again, only his friends call him that) seems to be learning all the right lessons - after you shake things up a bit by throwing the audience a curveball, give ‘em an ending that brings the house down. And I’m glad, since I already have tickets for his return to DC in May 2025 (tickets still available for the second night).

Because no matter how much we embrace change, we all like to hold on to our favorite faded graphic tees. (Brian)