jfb

The first time I saw her in concert, this is the conclusion I reached: Rickie Lee Jones is better than we, as a species, deserve. She and her band were transcendent, the Word of God breathing through five musical instruments and one idiosyncratic, sporadically intelligible human voice. This was in Santa Cruz, so my reaction might partly have been to secondhand marijuana smoke. But not completely.

That was a few years and a few tours ago, and I hold to my conviction: Rickie Lee Jones is better than we deserve. But I've started to take her for granted, and to dwell on the negative side of that comparison, the "we" side--on the people who chatter through every song from the new album, and then whoop and holler when she plays the opening notes of the radio hit they remember from twenty-five years ago. She takes it all in philosophical stride, but I don't.

But the main thing is, she's still great. She seems energized by recent events, by the need to fight for freedom and human love against the constrictions of politics and money. And her band, six members these days, makes complicated arrangements sound spontaneous and loose. So, listen: Her current tour's almost over, and then she's going to Australia. But next time you get a chance, go see her. Give her all your love, or if you end up not loving her, at least your respect. Fight back against greed and power and the indifference of the crowd. Have a good time.

(Thanks to