I had never heard of Josh Ritter before, but on September 17th, 2004, at Massey Hall he opened for Sarah Harmer and completely stunned the crowd with a killer acoustic set. I remember where I was sitting. I remember what he sounded like. I remember thinking we had unknowingly come to see a Josh Ritter concert and Sarah Harmer just also happened to be on the bill.
In that performance he showcased his ability to weave narrative and song together so seamlessly that I could not believe I hadn’t heard of him before. I downloaded every song he played that night and those songs have lived on in various playlists over the last 12 years.
Last night I got to see a different side of him. He played The Phoenix for his Toronto stop on his new tour in support of his album, “Sermon On The Rocks”. He was there with the Royal City Band and there was guitar – Man-Muppet Austin Nevins slayed – and there was big sound and there were solos and jam sessions and long, slow, pulsing rock soliloquies. I had not kept up with Ritter over the years – that first introduction was so timeless, so classic, that I never strayed from those first songs.
Therefore much of what I saw last night came as a bit of a surprise and, if I’m being honest, while I’ve never seen anyone perform with such pure joy as what Ritter demonstrated all night on the stage, the best moments were when it was just him and his acoustic guitar. Folksy. Story telling. Singing songs with more words than any song should have and somehow, somewhere, it becomes okay if the rhymes get loose because the imagery behind them is so strong in your mind that the occasional couplets you do lucidly interpret already fit the pictures in your head.
While a number of my favourites (“Harrisburg”, “Beautiful Night”, “You’ve Got The Moon”) did not make the cut last night in favour of the Royal City Experiment, I discovered some new acoustic and lyrical gems in “Change Of Time” and “Snow Is Gone”. I left the show knowing that if Josh Ritter ever came back and played solo, I’d be the first one in line. If The Royal City Band was in tow, well, I’d first check to see if Sarah Harmer was also on the bill.
The band did, however, perform my favourite Josh Ritter song. It was a little loud when given the full band treatment and sometimes driven towards a slightly-too-high range and thus falling a bit flat, but the moment was still amazing for me because the lyrics for this song, “Kathleen”, feel like they were stolen from my own experiences, written by an observer of my life.
The song tells of a party; I picture a classic field party, red solo cups, car high beams and bonfires providing the only sources of light. There are guitars and girls and good times. Our hero in the song is not the big man on campus, he’s not the quarterback or the group leader, but he has a guitar and, more importantly, he has a car and tonight, he is the one who gets to drive Kathleen home at the end of the night. Never has a guy so clearly in the Friend Zone of the most popular girl in school been so cool.
All the other girls here are stars – you are the northern lights
They try to shine in through your curtains – you’re too close and too bright
They try and they try but everything that they do
Is the ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you
I’ll be the one to drive you back home KathleenThis party was made with the night air and the chance that a smile
Will wind its way from your face to one of the boys in your line
You act like you’re hip to their tricks and you’re strong
But a virgin Wurlitzer heart never once had a song
I’ll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
I cannot count the number of times in my life I have been this guy, content to be the friend, hanging back, carrying a torch so long that it either burns out on its own or is snuffed by someone else actually brave enough to make the first move. Always rationalizing and playing down what I have to contribute to the friendship and possible relationship… “I’m going your way anyway…”
And I’ll have you back by break of day
I’m going your way anyway
And if you’d like to come along
I’ll be yours for a song
There is both sadness and joy in unrequited love. In fact, I’m not entirely sure I’m even talking about unrequited love… what do you call love that JUST MIGHT BE RETURNED if only the hero was brave enough to actually speak of it aloud? Unendeavored love?
These next lyrics in the song resonate so strongly for me…
I know you are waiting and I know that it is not for me
But I’m here and I’m ready and I’ve saved you the passenger seat
I won’t be your last dance just your last goodnight
Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied
I’ll be the one to drive you back home Kathleen
I think the pain here comes with the notion that the hero is so self-aware of his own condition and the very fact that he IS so self-aware even further prevents him from improving his situation.
“I won’t be your last dance just your last goodnight.”
This hints at the joy though… for ANY role he has to play in her evening is a positive one, a moment to be relished, remembered, dissected and put back together a thousand different ways as he lies in bed at night, recounting the night’s events, feeling every little touch and look again and again until he drifts off to sleep.
This post is getting harder and harder to write in the third person.
And then we get the last verse that paints the final picture so perfectly, so beautifully, that you are almost nostalgic for the moment yourself before you realize that this never actually happened to you…
So crawl up your trellis and quietly back into your room
And I’ll coast down the length of your drive by the light of the moon
And the next time I see you – a new kind of hello
Both our hearts have a secret only both of us know
‘Bout the night that I drove you back home Kathleen
As much as I want this to be my memory, I’ve never snuck a girl home after curfew and had her climb a trellis. I’ve never known a girl who even had a trellis. I’ve never coasted darkly down a driveway; every car I’ve ever driven has had daytime running lights for crying out loud. But yet there is something in that moment that I do connect with.
I have walked a girl home through Christie Pits at 4:30 in the morning after the cops raided an after-hours club we were at. I have dropped a girl off at her place after a Blue Jays game that I’m surprised she said yes to and tossed her a ball from my driver’s side window. I have watched as the bar crowd dwindled down until there were only a few of us left, paired off, talking over poutine. I have stumbled home to my University residence from yet another night at the weekly sing-along wondering what that lingering hand hold with the new girl in the group meant during “Wonderful Tonight”.
I have had many Kathleens in my life and many nights with those Kathleens and on that September night in 2004, and in the years that have followed, Josh Ritter has tapped into my feelings about them all with this song.
First up, this is a fantastic live version of the song. Much heavier emphasis on the acoustic through the first half with an understated band presence towards the end. This is the performance I hoped to catch last night. His trademark squinted grin and pure happiness pour out over the audience and they drink it up, telling the story of this song right back to him…
And here is a clip from the show at The Phoenix last night as he heads into the final verse… musically not as great, but he has created such a warm feeling in the crowd up to this point that the moment still sparkles for us all. Also, a great extended car trip home for our hero and Kathleen that ties in the winter cold and snow we’ve been experiencing in Toronto this week…
Further Listening – Two More Josh Ritter Songs
At the risk of taking up subject matter for future posts, if you’re new to Josh Ritter after this post, here are a couple other favourites worth checking out.
Josh Ritter is smart and Stuck To You (The Science Song) is a fun little number that brings his academic efforts in both science and American folk music together quite nicely.
And there is another post in me about this song for sure, but a great place to leave things for the night. No live footage that I can find, but hear it straight from the album: Beautiful Night.
Further Reading
Here is a quick review for the Phoenix show over at exclaim.ca.
I’ve read a number of interviews with Josh through this past week knowing a post about the concert was brewing, and the best is this great interview with him… gives an excellent perspective of what inspires him and what helped make him the man he became.