Who knew such a petite frame could contain such pith, such Pat Benatar-like feistiness? That’s what you get in Jenny Lewis, the main musician and minx from Rilo Kiley, a band that exemplifies the term “indie darlings.”
But with their new album, Under the Blacklight, under the Warner Bros. banner, change is in the wind for this foursome. Lewis (shown below) has evolved from a coquettish kitten into a tigress with a penchant for sultry, ’70s-sounding jams. She further proved her might with her 2006 solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat, relegating her band mates — Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel — to near-arbitrary status.
At Rilo Kiley’s recent concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, diminutive guitarist Sennett manned a few of the numbers (the ukulele-driven “Ripchord,” the bloody valentine “Dreamworld”), but it was apparent that Lewis was the belle of the hipster ball.
“We’re going to try it as a band, because that’s what we are,” the slinky singer said as Rilo Kiley delved into “A Better Son/Daughter.” It was a brash statement, seeming that recent interviews have found Lewis and Sennett pondering the band’s future together. There wasn’t necessarily a pall on the performance due to the ex-lovers public rivalry; the show still felt like the whiskey-soaked, coke-speckled party their new material urged it to be. Giant balloons wafted around the audience during “Silver Lining,” and melodicas were whipped out late in the evening.
But the cacophony of the encore, a maddening ocean of noise and light, may have signified the coming tsunami in the Rilo Kiley camp. With Lewis stationed on one side of the stage and Sennett, de Reeder, and Boesel on the other, the line in the sand had been drawn (whether intentionally or not). The question is now whether fans will follow the increasingly country-ish, heartbroken drawls of their red-headed heroine or stay true with the boys who brought her there.
-Melissa Bobbitt
Photo credits: Melissa Bobbitt
Rilo Kiley: www.rilokiley.com
Warner Bros: www.warnerbrosrecords.com