Flashes of Panic

The last time I saw Josh Ritter at the Somerville Theatre, the encore involved Josh’s band (a four-piece at the time) hauling out a tuba, among other instruments, for the encore. That was shortly before “The Animal Years” was released, and songs like “Girl in the War” were still just being tried out.

Josh has a new album, a month or two ago, and to go along with the bombastic title (“The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter”) he’d added a guitarist to the band and brought in a four-piece horn section. There was at least one song last night which could’ve been performed by Bill Halley and the Comets without anyone batting an eyelid, but this horn section was bottom-heavy (baritone and tenor sax, trombone, trumpet) and Josh uses them like a growl—the new album is online for the moment, check the second verse of “Rumors” and you get the idea. “My orchestra is gigantic,” (buh bah,) “This thing could sink the Titanic,” (buh bah,) and so on.

So with three solid albums behind this one, it’s getting tough for Josh to play all the good stuff from his back catalog while still showing off the new music. He played a lot of the new album, including all the up-tempo stuff, a pretty deep range of “The Animal Years” (“Wolves” and “Girl in the War,” of course, but also “Here at the Right Time” and “Monster Ballads”). “Hello Starling” got short shrift; he played “Kathleen,” of course, since the half of the audience that wasn’t there for “Girl in the War” was there for “Kathleen.” And then from “Golden Age of Radio,” not the expected ones: “Harrisburg,” yes, but not “Me and Jiggs” or the title track; “Lawrence, KS” instead.

And, as part of the encore, Bruce Springsteen’s “The River,” by himself without the mikes. Part of Ritter’s strength is that, unlike Springsteen, his voice works best when it’s not at full shout; he was at the ragged edge of his range with “The River,” and with the bigger, louder band and the energetic songs on “Historical Conquests,” he’s working hard. Maybe it didn’t help that midway through “Girl in the War,” he sounded like he was breaking down in tears. It’s as though he’s incapable of not feeling the music completely; it makes a great show, but man, it must be tough work.

As usual, whenever I leave one of Josh’s shows, I have a new favorite song; this time, it’s “Here At The Right Time.”

Now Playing: To the Dogs or Whoever from The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter by Josh Ritter

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