Oh dear Jonathan!

(first draft cross posted to the indiepop list)

Highlights from Jonathan Richman's Philly show at Johnny Brenda's February 8 2006:

Opening with Salvador Dali AND later playing Pablo Picasso

If it is possible to have TOO MUCH Jonathan swinging his crotch in your face I got that last night. I also almost got wacked in the head with his guitar when I closed my eyes for a second. I almost got wacked in the head with the guitar when I was paying attention too.

He's all buff with nice arm muscles and didn't use a guitar strap for the entire performance. I can't remember if that is typical, but he was really swinging the guitar last night. Plus I realized Calvin Johnson's most enthusaistic performances are a poor substitute for Jonathan's calesthenics.

Totally weird but I wanted to touch his sneaker for good luck but I didn't. I'm not sure what else to do when someone is THAT CLOSE onstage.

People screaming "Free Mumia" during his Mumia song

Going from "Not So Much To Be Loved, As To Love" (which is a quote from St. Francis's prayer "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace") to a song whose title I don't know, but it has a bunch of lyrics about how he prayed for love and fell in love because of his prayer, and he even got the jingle bell shaker and blesed the crowd and it was very funny and sweet.

Hearing Springtime in New York and rememembering when he played that on September 11th in Portland and not crying this time.

The spoken word part of "Let Her Go Into The Darkness" performed in French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew

Neal Ramirez didn't have a ticket but someone sold him one and he got in.

People congradulating Herbie on this rockstardom. His band Brown Recluse Sings had a song on Veronica Mars this week.

Meeting house photographer Katie after the show and finding out she shares my love of Tullycraft and Lil Hospital.