Sha-woop-woop

On the days when I am especially busy and have fallen behind I shall sling up one of my old reviews that was never published anywhere but written for kicks and to preserve the glorious memories. Today, Jeffrey Lewis at the Freebutt:

Jeffrey Lewis is well-loved, and rightly should be. He is an anti-folk ass-kicking genius. Beginning his set with 'I love anti-folk', to the tune of 'I love rock 'n' roll, he is a vibrant presence. The last time I saw him he happily filled the stage, and packed out the upstairs venue, at the Komedia. Today he was simply playing two sets, a matinee and an evening, at the 150-ish capacity Freebutt. The Freebutt is a good venue, if only for its comedic value: the stage lighting is either ON or OFF, and there is a massive column bang smack in the middle of where the audience should be. Jeffrey is unphased.
Jeffrey and the Junkyard (brother Jack and drummer Dave) chose to focus largely on newer stuff, from the album 'Em Are I'. For those not familiar with Jeffrey's delivery, songs, stories, poems and slide-shows involving intensely geeky and self-referential things that interest Jeffrey, such as graphic novels and Leonard Cohen lyrics, are haphazardly woven into a magnificent and life-affirming set. Today's selection included a “traditional” detective story, and the evening's attendees were promised a story which didn't even have an ending yet. By the fourth song my face hurts from smiling – there are very few anti-folk artists who take themselves so seriously and yet are this funny. The band is coerced, by the end of the set, into performing a few golden oldies, getting a few hardcore fans rocking out to 'Whistle Past the Graveyard', 'Time Machine' and a personal favourite, 'Back when I was four'.
Lewis is all about the beautiful, whimsical, hilarious lyrical precision. He is a word surgeon – not one syllable escapes him, even when he stutters, laughs or seems to forget what he's singing entirely. Theirs is a pared-down, bare-heart sound, incongruous but far from unappreciated on a Saturday afternoon. I'm saddened I wont be staying for the evening set too, but Jeffrey is addictive, and I know whenever he and his Junkyard are back in England, I will be back for more.