There are two ways to put on a good live show. The first is to multiply everything by five—the beats, the bass, the volume, the tempo—and blow the doors off the venue. The second is to play up the one thing a studio album could never give you: the warmth and intimacy of being in the same room with the audience. Last night, Rilo Kiley gave us plenty of the former; “Love And War (11/11/46)” was suitably loud and crunchy, and the excessive tendencies of “Does He Love You?” work even better in concert.
But it was the quiet moments that came off the best. The single-song encore of “With Arms Outstretched” managed the near-impossible feat of getting a bunch of indie kids to sing the verses on their own, in unison. That alone would’ve made last night’s show a good concert, but I imagine it’s the sight and sound of Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis sharing a mic for the last verses of “So Long” that will be burned into the memories of the first ten rows of the crowd. They screwed up the lyrics, giggled a bit like schoolchildren, then got down to the task of skewering everyone’s hearts on their softly-sung words. As if you didn’t already love them enough.
Frank also went to the show, and he’ll have pictures to boot.
