Jenny Lewis is iconic for any female who has ever loved any sort of indie music. Love her or hate her, and let’s face it, you probably love her, she’s the girl whose music has made us cry, empathize, and feel a whole lot more badass.
Now, she’s given young women all over the world something to envy her for – she found love, or at least a smoking hot boyfriend. Her current beau Johnathan Rice was a fairly well established musician in his own right, even playing the Roy Orbison in the feature film “Walk the Line.” Now, they’re making music together and for all that the onlooker can tell – they’re really happy.
Their latest release under the name, Jenny & Johnny, “Now We’re Having Fun” combines his blues style with her folky pop. The material for this album is obviously much more positive than most of her music beforehand and because they write their music together, it is almost like they are making love in their music.
Unfortunately, the idea that artists function best when they are the least happy seems to evidence itself in the lack of originality of this album. Although the songs are fun to listen to, the 30 minutes of the album lacks anything exceptional. “While Men are Dreaming” is the only song that does not have a driving beat, with a catchy chorus and therefore sticks out as being the most interesting song they made.
They brought their love to the Granada on Tuesday and packed in a crowd. They are both skilled performers, so the show was fun and it was obvious that the audience was mainly girls like me, who grew up at least a little bit obsessed with Jenny Lewis. So, she really can do no wrong. Call me a purist, but the encore with nothing more than their two guitars and voices performing “Melt your Heart” circa Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins.
Kirsten Dunst was also at the Granada theater, perhaps because she is dating the drummer from Rilo Kiley. This additional celebrity blew up the Twitter feed on the big screen before the show, starting rumors of random actors who may or may not have been in the audience, including Jared Leto.
Be sure to check out the upcoming concerts at the Granda, which include Neon Indian and Dylan LeBlanc.
