Lambchop. New Shit!
Lambchop took the stage at the 80-seat Dunsmore Jazz Room located inside Crooners Supper Club, and without so much as a glance in the rear-view mirror, delivered an entire set of live debuts from the upcoming Punching the Clown album. This evening’s iteration of Lambchop saw Kurt Wagner accompanied by Andrew Broder on guitar and vocalists Randall Throckmorton & Alex Sauser-Monnig.
This was the first of three shows at Crooners Supper Club in Minneapolis, MN, and was dubbed “The Pilot Episode.” Nashville’s finest is indeed back at it again.
The night kicked off with Channy Leaneagh delivering an intimate set of acoustic guitar tunes that explored themes of grief, loss, and acceptance. Her stripped-down set was an appropriate start for the evening ahead.
The Dunsmore Jazz Room felt considerably smaller than the 80-seat capacity it claims. In the soft glow of the room’s neon light Kurt Wagner took center chair, and was flanked by Andrew Broder on guitar and vocalists Randall Throckmorton and Alex Sauser-Monnig, who provided the only instrumentation of the night. Broder’s subtle guitar work delicately decorated the songs while never competing for space. The vocal treatments honored the new material in a way that aligned directly with the concept explained at the album’s announcement. Groundswells of harmony, call and response phrasing, and the signature marks of Wagner’s vocal delivery blended perfectly in this intimate and delicate set. The room remained nearly dead quiet for the entire duration of the set as it became apparent that there would be no looking back, no hits from the past, and new life was breathed into the Lambchop songbook with one debut after another.
A locked in and silent crowd heard Wagner bring his trademark vocal stylings, wry wit, and lyrical passages that perpetually disintegrated as he delivered them…somehow becoming louder as they trailed off into silence. Smirks spread across the room as brand new one liners were delivered with the same comic, cosmic seriousness (and occasional lack thereof) that we’ve come to know so well. They surfaced as quickly as they vanished. Punching bags in the yard. Fucking in the driveway. Speedways, just west of Nicollet. Sitting in the exit row. Easy Buckets. Roman Catholics. Neutron Bombs and Big Cigars. What the fuck?
As we moved through the set, the room took on the qualities of a movie set. Time came to crawl, an increasing rarity in today’s world, while Kurt posed the question, “It’s over in a minute, is this some kind of test?” Heavy imagery flowed out of Just West of Nicollet and Doctor in the House. Lyrically, both songs delivered passages that could easily be construed as warnings. Trailing vocals hung in the air like photographs on a wall. Delicate phrasing, warm lines of vocals, and punches filled the heavy air continuously. Weakened stood out instantly, feeling entirely congealed and carrying the hallmark swelling soul vibes of any Lambchop hit, despite being brand new.
The evening included Kurt offering up his thanks to the audience for hearing the set of unfamiliar tunes and providing his father’s phone number, with the instruction to text “punch me” to him and receive what we heard that evening. By the time Monday morning came to pass, the masters of the album were delivered via text as promised.
Another spectacular studio offering from Lambchop is on the way in August. There will be two additional shows at Crooners Supper Club - The Holiday Special on August 30th (sold out) and the Season Finale on September 27th. Don’t sleep on the chop.
Lambchop - Crooners Supper Club Minneapolis, MN
