Falling somewhere between Hope Floats and Roadhouse, Gruene Hall is about forty minutes south of Austin and holds the elite claim of being Texas’ oldest dang dancehall. Between the wood plank floors and lack of air conditioning and windows, it’s hard to dispute this fact. It is the type of place that most people think of as stereotypical Texas. The antiquity of such a structure also makes it a special place to catch a show, especially when it’s an act like Jenny Lewis. Between darting around the South for multiple shows between her back-to-back ACL weekends, the redheaded singer found time to jaunt down to Gruene for a sold out show with Nikki Lane.
Wearing a cowboy (cowgirl?) hat and leather shorts so short they might as well have been panties, Nikki Lane had zero difficulty charming her Texas audience. Hailing from South Carolina, Lane is the very definition of a Southern belle, something she carries well and exudes through her music. However, she also doesn’t shy away from dishing out a rowdy, sexy attitude, which she displayed when playing songs like “Sleep With a Stranger,” “Wild One,” and the infectiously spunky “All or Nothing.” The most fitting tunes of the night came from the brand new “Faded,” a rambling honky tonk ballad, and Lane’s set-closing rendition of the Waylon Jennings classic “Waymore’s Outlaws” saw her flexing her country chops. Though it’s easiest to pin Nikki Lane down as a country artist, her sound is just as much rock and roll, and a welcome presence amidst the pollution of Nashville pop. Onstage Lane was warm and inviting to the audience, and appeared poised to continue rising upward.
The first thing that stood out about Jenny Lewis when she took the stage was her choice to opt for white jeans and tank top instead of her Technicolor dream suit she’s worn on basically every date of her tour. Her relaxed attire reflected the loose atmosphere of the small Texas dancehall – an intimate venue compared to her other tour stops – and signaled she was ready to cut loose and rock out. Opening with Rilo Kiley’s “Silver Linings” was a wise choice and immediately roused the audience into a screaming frenzy. After “Rise Up With Fists!!,” Lewis moved onto material from her newest album, The Voyager, with “Head Underwater,” a confessional tune reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and carrying hints of disco. “Slippery Slopes” took on a grungy Gram Parsons vibe while harkening back to Rilo Kiley, and the soaring chorus saw the crowd rocking along with the band before Lewis, ever the performer, climbed on her piano to shake it on “The Moneymaker.” In the live setting “The Next Messiah” played out like an alt. country “Paranoid Android” while the relationship chronicle “Aloha and the Three Johns” spun a web of perfect pop goodness.
When Jenny Lewis and her band returned to the stage for the first of three encores audience showed their adoration by singing along each and every lyric to their acoustic take on Rilo Kiley’s “With Arms Outstretched.” Lewis kept it acoustic for “Acid Tongue” before plugging in and closing out with the sensual, feisty rocker “She’s Not Me.” Those lucky enough to score tickets to the sold out show drifted cheerfully into the cool Texas air, feeling blissful in having just experienced stellar performances from two of the more exciting artists making music today.
Photos by Arthur VanRooy
