2008 Woodie Awards
Raining Jane
Steven Franssen
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Culture
I floated over to the three part harmony filling the Werner Center like a cartoon character drawn to a freshly baked pie. These wispy voices belonged to Raining Jane, a band that has been playing together since 1999. Having played at Western last year, this stop was in support of the release of their third album, "Paper Nest."
Raining Jane kept the mood light with a few light jokes sprinkled in-between their polished songs and the crowd stayed hooked for the whole hour-long show. A couple mid-tempo tunes led up to a Petty cover "Last Dance With Mary Jane" that had everyone foot tapping and singing right along. Their take on this American classic reminded me of that produced by the early The Waifs, but a bit bouncier and brighter. "I Am Love" followed, a crooner about tween romance, straight out of Lilith Fair, that included the lyric "go home to set up my web cam!" A nice jump to a punk beat and then a heavy drum solo from percussionist Mona Tavakoli sent the room spiraling towards a big finsih, riding out one of their strongest songs. A heartfelt story split by the two guitarists led people into "Desperate Sails", a song about "the moment in a relationship when you're cuddling with the other person, but you know its over." A sitar came out of nowhere, played by bassist Becky Gebhardt, and melted like butter with Mai Bloomfield's cello playing. I was impressed by the lyrics "this love is too much to be the forever kind" and "waiting to let go, till you let go too." This was by far, some of the most vivid lyrical content of the show.
The band's charming side came out with a nice set-break bonus track featuring only the sitar and cajón with the guitarists not so secretly dancing behind the stage backdrop! Everyone's smiles turned to thoughtfully concentrated faces at the sound of "Broken Parts," a tune marked by dim light, slow dance choruses that waltzed up into a heartbreaking emotional rush. This high point (or low, however you interpret it) of the show had everyone tuned to the same frequency. A "Video Killed The Radio Star" cover had some pretty clever lyrics tossed in at the end, "texting killed the conversation, scientology killed my crush on Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise killed my crush on Katie Holmes" and a four part cello loop warped everyone's minds.
Each member of Raining Jane brings a different energy and dynamic to the stage. What was particularly impressive was the tightness of the musicianship and the band's ability to give and take with the crowd. The only thing missing from their sound is a strong lead guitarist. You can hear these ladies on their myspace page, their new album Paper Nest, the documentary "Girls Rock" and on the song "We Sing" on Jason Mraz's new album. •
Raining Jane kept the mood light with a few light jokes sprinkled in-between their polished songs and the crowd stayed hooked for the whole hour-long show. A couple mid-tempo tunes led up to a Petty cover "Last Dance With Mary Jane" that had everyone foot tapping and singing right along. Their take on this American classic reminded me of that produced by the early The Waifs, but a bit bouncier and brighter. "I Am Love" followed, a crooner about tween romance, straight out of Lilith Fair, that included the lyric "go home to set up my web cam!" A nice jump to a punk beat and then a heavy drum solo from percussionist Mona Tavakoli sent the room spiraling towards a big finsih, riding out one of their strongest songs. A heartfelt story split by the two guitarists led people into "Desperate Sails", a song about "the moment in a relationship when you're cuddling with the other person, but you know its over." A sitar came out of nowhere, played by bassist Becky Gebhardt, and melted like butter with Mai Bloomfield's cello playing. I was impressed by the lyrics "this love is too much to be the forever kind" and "waiting to let go, till you let go too." This was by far, some of the most vivid lyrical content of the show.
The band's charming side came out with a nice set-break bonus track featuring only the sitar and cajón with the guitarists not so secretly dancing behind the stage backdrop! Everyone's smiles turned to thoughtfully concentrated faces at the sound of "Broken Parts," a tune marked by dim light, slow dance choruses that waltzed up into a heartbreaking emotional rush. This high point (or low, however you interpret it) of the show had everyone tuned to the same frequency. A "Video Killed The Radio Star" cover had some pretty clever lyrics tossed in at the end, "texting killed the conversation, scientology killed my crush on Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise killed my crush on Katie Holmes" and a four part cello loop warped everyone's minds.
Each member of Raining Jane brings a different energy and dynamic to the stage. What was particularly impressive was the tightness of the musicianship and the band's ability to give and take with the crowd. The only thing missing from their sound is a strong lead guitarist. You can hear these ladies on their myspace page, their new album Paper Nest, the documentary "Girls Rock" and on the song "We Sing" on Jason Mraz's new album. •
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