Milwaukee's Daily Magazine Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009
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  • lisrmiller:
    @ChristyAltomare And to keep dreaming (and spamming), a cover of Jenny Lewis' Acid Tongue or Rilo Kiley's Absence of God. And now I'll stop

  • taramromro:
    waching changeling.....know what i want for christmas rilo kiley or say anything shirts p p pleasee or blink crapy punk rock,

  • AlanaBow:
    @abbybischoff TV on the Radio, Jackson 5 Christmas, John Mayer's Battle Studies, Jenny Lewis, or... Ekolu to pretend you're somewhere warm!

  • wayoutosphere:
    Am I crazy, or is it getting harder to find -imeem, -video tracks? : Rilo Kiley – Its a Hit (unsuccessful searc... ♫ link

  • javachik:
    @BastardMachine Bien sur, since you are a man of taste. Saw you at Rilo Kiley at the godforsaken design center or Expo or whtvr that was.


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In Music Blogs
Short 'n' sweet Rilo Kiley show worth the wait
Los Angeles-based indie rock band Rilo Kiley played a sold-out show at The Pabst Theater Friday.  
By Molly Snyder Edler RSS Feed Twitter Feed
OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer

E-mail author | Author bio
More articles by Molly Snyder Edler

What is a blog?  For us it is a short blurb that we write when the mood strikes us.  It can be first person, funny or informative. In short, a blog is whatever we want it to be. Published May 24, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.
Tags: rilo kiley, pabst theatre, jenny lewis

Friday's Rilo Kiley show at The Pabst Theater started at 8 p.m. with a performance by Nik Freitas. At 9:15, The Spinto Band took the stage. By 10:15, the audience was clearly ready for Riley -- yelling out their name and walking out on the opening act for restroom and beverage breaks.

By 10:25, I wasn't sure we were going to see Rilo Kiley at all. But at 10:35 p.m., we finally, finally did.

And it was definitely worth the wait.

The sold-out show lasted a little over an hour, followed by a two-song encore, but it was a Jenny Lewis love fest from start to finish.

Lewis, the lead singer of the band, was dressed in a signature sparkly leotard and tights. She was clearly the coolest and sexiest girl in the room -- she even laid on the stage in a bedroom lounge pose at one point -- but her demeanor was sweet and friendly. (Translation: She's the girl other girls would love to hate, but just can't.)

Lewis said few words to the audience, but what she didn't offer in conversation, she made up for with the quality of her voice.

Inspired by strong, country female singers like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline, Lewis' voice is clearly flavored by her favorite ladies. Prior to Rilo Kiley's 2004 upbeat, indie rock release, "More Adventurous," Lewis had more of a melancholy country sound than today, but those influences remain.

Half of the material performed during Friday's show was from the August 2007 release, "Under the Blacklight." The band opened with "Close Call," and went on to deliver "Moneymaker," "Dreamworld," "15" (dedicated to the 15-year-olds in the audience) and big hits "Breaking Up" and "Silver Lining."

"Silver Lining" featured massive, confetti-filled balloons dropped on the audience.

Rilo Kiley dished up deeper cuts, too, like "Absence of God," "With Arms Outstretched," "Ripchord," "It's A Hit" and, in the encore, "Portions for Foxes."

The band's songs have appeared in "The O.C.," "Dawson's Creek," "Grey's Anatomy," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and more. Lewis was a childhood actress who performed in television shows like "Baywatch," "Golden Girls," "Growing Pains," "Roseanne" and "Mr. Belevedere," which also featured Milwaukee Brewers' baseball announcer, Bob Uecker.

The show began with a pre-packaged feel, but over time, thanks to Lewis' talent and warmth -- and the phenomenal performances by the other band members -- it felt more like a rare opportunity to see an important musical group.

If only it could have gone on longer ... and started a little earlier.



More Information ...
The Pabst Theater
144 E. Wells St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 286-3663
http://www.pabsttheater.org

1 comment about this article.
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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by jetkat on May 24, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (report)

Correction, the song '15' was dedicated to the 15 yr olds , for obvious reasons : ) Great show and thanks for the review !!

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