Rabbit Fur Coat on a Hot Summer Night at Spaceland

LAist favorites Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins returned to LA and Spaceland on Thursday night. The show consisted basically of the songs from their album Rabbit Fur Coat. We decided to go after having the album on rotation for weeks, and liking each more each time. The songs are steeped in enough traditonal styles that they feel somewhat timeless. "Rabbit Fur Coat" is in a way a sad inversion of Dolly Parton's classic "Coat of Many Colors," and the other songs meld traditional styles like gospel and bluegrass with contemporary rock.

They started off the show with "Run Devil Run," loud and confident. "Rise Up With Fists!!" fulfilled the fierce promise of its name, short of actual fisticuffs. There was one new song, "Fernando," which was energetic and fun. Lewis said it was their first time playing it for the audience, but she and the Watson Twins seemed to have worked out a little dance to go with the song, twirling in their gold sequined dresses under the hot spotlight. For "Rabbit Fur Coat," the other players vacated the stage and Lewis stood alone, accompanying herself with her guitar. On the other hand, she invited the audience to sing along with a few songs, including "Handle With Care," though I may have been the only one who took her up on it. Everyone else missed an opportunity, because singing along to "Handle With Care" (Lewis's cover or the original) is a great mood elevator. The audience did sing along with "It Wasn't Me," though. The band turned "Born Secular" into their farewell, bowing off the stage one by one, leaving the drummer pounding out the rhythm until he too ducked behind the curtain. Even after the encores, though, it was hardly goodbye -- this is songwriting strong enough to last.