The Jefferson Theater Thursday 6/19
You really have to hand it to someone who hit rock bottom multiple times across a career, yet consistently managed to dust off and get back to business. Aimee Mann weathered an early success comedown with ’80s outfit ‘Til Tuesday, stepped out on her own, and got the proverbial shaft from her record label after not meeting sales expectations. Then the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter had an understandable mental breakdown that took her out of the game for a while, too.
Considering her impressive collection of professional and personal tragedies, why shouldn’t we celebrate an oddly numbered moment for the fourth of her 10 solo albums?
Newly remastered and out on her own SuperEgo label, Mann’s Lost in Space (2002) will be commemorated on the 22 1/2 Lost in Space Anniversary Tour. Laying the set thick with tracks from the record is an interesting move for an album that’s not particularly defining or well-received; perhaps the choice is to shed light on songs that Mann feels have been overshadowed by some of her bigger hits like the Academy and Grammy Award-nominated track “Save Me” (1999) from the movie Magnolia.
Mid-tempo singles “Humpty Dumpty” and “Pavlov’s Bell” provide an adult rock respectability in their execution, resonating as honest while not pushing too hard, committing to catchiness, or venturing into the territory of sonic ambition. The project of Mann and a cast of nearly three dozen other musicians, Lost in Space should be able to be recreated with a five-piece and maybe a string player. And that should satisfy you as an audience member. If you’re in your mid-50s to late 60s, regularly shop at Trader Joe’s, appreciate indie films, and maybe drive a Subaru, I bet you’ll be pretty happy to find yourself seated at the Jefferson listening to Aimee Mann’s smart and subtly imagined songs. That’s not a knock on you—she’s good.
Opening the evening, Jonathan Coulton, known as JoCo by his fans (who are larger in number than I would have guessed), is a particularly nerdy and quirky pop songwriter out of Brooklyn who never met a seventh chord he didn’t want to get into a serious relationship with. A tech worker turned musician, he can be pretty funny if he doesn’t just pluck your nerves.
Supplied photo
