Wednesday, February 11, 1998
Blues artist Jonny Lang quietly upstaged by outstanding opening
act
MUSIC: Guitar prodigy exudes energy and talent, needs to curb
undue exaggeration
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It’s rare that the opening act’s performance eclipses that of
the headlining artist’s, but at the House of Blues last Friday,
singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan did just that.
Opening for 17-year-old blues act Jonny Lang, Ryan stole the
show with his soulful, emotion-driven performance that worked so
beautifully in an intimate club like the stylish House of Blues.
Unlike Lang’s exaggerated jam sessions, Ryan touched the audience
with his poignant, tortured lyrics and rocked the house with his
band’s polished performance.
A newly signed artist (on A&M Records), Ryan’s influences
mainly include Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, focusing on a
guitar-rock sound accompanied by gruff, raspy vocals, which makes
his music both gritty and confident. With most of his lyrics taking
on a darker, regretful tone, Ryan gives the blues his own rock ‘n’
roll treatment, even straddling the fence enough to reach folk-rock
territory. He’s refined an adult modern rock sound the Wallflowers
and Matchbox 20 have popularized recently.
His all-too-short, eight-song set showcased the best songs from
his newly released debut effort, "May Day," and a new song. With a
straightforward demeanor broken only by the occasional,
down-to-earth rapport with the capacity crowd, Ryan didn’t push the
eagerness envelope or strut out with the cocky,
I’m-gonna-be-a-rock-star attitude. His earnest, restrained persona
perfectly matched the music’s somewhat conservative sound.
Ryan knows how to touch a crowd, especially with tender songs
like "Dam," "Chrome" and "Irrelevant." But the new kid on the block
shined most during the louder, more rockin’ numbers, including
vibrant, soaring versions of future single "The Dead Girl" and
"Railroaded," which Ryan introduced deadpan as a "song about
heartbreak … Imagine that."
These harder-edged yet sublimely melodic songs garnered the
loudest ovations. The crowd, most likely unfamiliar with newcomer
Ryan, paid to see Jonny Lang and somehow got more than they
bargained for, judging by their warm responses. When Ryan closed
with an energetic rendition of his current underplayed single,
"Guilty," the audience roared in approval for a job well done.
After a longer-than-usual, 45-minute break, Jonny Lang came onto
the stage with his backup band already jammin’ it up. Adorned in a
tank top, jeans and Hanson-like golden locks, Lang’s gangly
presence garnered a generous helping of applause and whoops from
the crowd, packed tightly throughout the small venue.
The gig Friday night represented a lot for the teenage guitar
prodigy. Lang earlier in the day had been presented by A&M
Records with his platinum record plaque, certifying one million
sales for his debut album, "Lie To Me." With his family in the
audience, as well as many industry types, and two sold out L.A.
shows (Friday night’s House of Blues appearance and Saturday’s
stint at the Troubadour), Lang had to be reveling in this career
(if we can call it that) high point.
Lang and his band play straight-up blues, with a rock edge to
some of the songs. Some tunes, like "Good Morning Little
Schoolgirl," take on the gritty blues style popularized by such
greats as Stevie Ray Vaughn and Muddy Waters. Other songs, like
"Lie To Me" take a more rock approach. While not completely
faithful to purist blues music, his hookless rock textures are more
sophisticated than most of the material played on KLOS-FM, the
radio station currently promoting him the most. Lang, who sings and
plays a mean lead guitar, abstains from the songwriting process for
the most part (save a few tracks from the album) and leaves that up
to the somewhat older members of his band.
However amped the crowd seemed, within a few songs the aura died
down slightly as Lang meandered in extended jam session versions of
his songs. Granted, jam sessions characterize blues shows, but many
audience members seemed bored with songs like "Schoolgirl."
Furthermore, the eager Lang got so into his music, he seemed to
have lost all control in his vocals and facial expressions. Right
into the first song, in the more rock-based "Hit the Ground
Running.," Lang displayed all the standard rock-guitarist squints,
strains and facial contortions. Not only did this get a little
tiresome, but Lang would allow his head and body flop about, as if
completely taken over by the very music he was playing. It made
such exaggerated guitar players as Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood
Mac) seem stoic and faceless. Some fans couldn’t even look at Lang,
with gaping expressions on their faces.
Lang’s vocals took the bad with the good. On one hand, his
amazingly deep and rich vocals mirrored those of his influences and
contemporaries many years older than he. His mastery of blues-like
vocals prove that the younger generation can sing in a moving and
mature way, as Fiona Apple has also shown.
However, where Apple avoids going overboard, Lang takes his
vocals to the extreme. At almost screaming point, Lang’s singing
styles lacked any subtlety or restraint, which became downright
obnoxious during numbers like "A Quitter Never Wins." Between his
straining face and over-the-top, preacher-style roars, many of the
fans appeared to be either put off by it or laughing at his
ridiculousness.
Let this not undermine Lang’s skill. The boy can belt it out,
and he can rip on the guitar like few guitarists. Bits of Vaughn
and Jimi Hendrix could be heard throughout his performance. And let
it not be forgotten that the boy is only 17. A funny moment during
his dead-on blues delivery of "Schoolgirl" had him lamenting about
going home with a schoolgirl, something that if any one else had
sung would have offended people. But the boyish Lang cried out,
"I’m a little schoolboy, too," providing his set with a
lighthearted moment.
Both Ryan and Lang still have a long way to go, seeing that they
only have one album each. Ryan seems already prepped for tours and
albums to come. Lang, however, should probably learn to control his
onstage presence if he is to widen his fan base. The problem with
Lang resides in the fact that the typical pop song structure shows
up nowhere in his music, and the conservative, music-listening
public might not appreciate his rhythms – both musically and
physically.
Despite Lang’s concert faults and the fact that the blues genre
is hardly mainstream, Lang has proven himself well, given all the
attention and sales he’s generated. Maybe with more stage practice,
Lang will create a relaxed aura more indicative of the style of
music he attempts to play.
A&M Records
Seventeen-year-old blues prodigy Jonny Lang.
A&M Records
Singer/songwriter Mathhew Ryan stole the show at the House of
Blues.