As a member of Jenny Lewis' fan club I was happy to see a post for a contest to see her for an upcoming show in NYC. It all happened pretty quickly so when I won the contest I still was not sure exactly what I was in for. Turns out I had won tickets to see a taping of Elvis Costello's new talk/variety show appropriately named Spectacle: Elvis Costello with....This show is taped at the historical Apollo Theater which is the perfect setting for the creative musical collaborations that I was lucky enough to witness. This episode featured the super talented singer/songwriting of Jenny Lewis, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward), and Jakob Dylan.
The show began with Elvis coming out to greet us, playing a song and as he introduced his band we discovered that one theme of this episode was how these artists were all children of famous/show business parents. Once the open discussion began it was also evident that all of these artist's new album and recent creative work really complemented each other.
She & Him opened with their song Change is Hard. It has a soft yet meaningful old country feel to it. Their first album together She & Him: Volume One has been said to sound like it was from a different era because there is such a timeless and sometimes old fashioned quality to it. Elvis then spoke with Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward for a bit about how their collaboration came about and how their influences inspired their work. Soon after Jenny Lewis came out to join the discussion and we find out that she and M. Ward worked together on songs that will be on her upcoming album - Acid Tongue (out 9/23/08). Jenny brought up how she is a huge fan of old country music and has been deeply influenced by the emerging LA country style that she has heard. I am eagerly anticipating her new album and was overjoyed to hear her perform Pretty Bird which M. Ward had worked with her on. I loved it! We also found out that Jenny and Elvis Costello had combined forces. We were treated to a performance of the 2 songs they sing together on each of their respective albums.
Next up was Jakob Dylan. He too has a new solo album called Seeing Things and after years of trying to distance himself from the more quiet man-and-his-guitar style, he is now comfortable embracing it. He even played an acoustic version of his first hit with his band the Wallflowers - "One Headlight". His discussion with Elvis was quite informative and we got to hear some amusing stories of interactions they each had with other famous musicians. These two had a great rapport with each other and it was a pleasure to hear them share their influences. We also heard two of Jakob's new songs performed with Elvis playing and singing along.
Jenny Lewis then came back on the stage for a one on one interview. We heard more about her writing process and how she gets the ideas for her songs.
The grand finale featured all the guests on stage performing Peace Love & Understanding together. Hearing this live was amazing and Elvis reminded us that this song has so much meaning in the times we are living in today. I couldn't agree more!
Overall, this show left me really inspired and eager to view it as a finished product. For anyone who is interested in getting in depth access to their favorite artists it will surely be a hit. Elvis Costello is entertaining all on his own but hearing him have these intimate discussions with other artists on how their ideas and music come to exist is a priceless opportunity. Not to mention the combined performances that occur throughout the show. I will definitely be watching when this show is on the Sundance Channel. I will keep you posted with when it airs.
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