JACKSON, Wyo. — Reunion tours are a mixed bag. And when one considers the time in between—17 years since Rilo Kiley’s last tour—it’s a trip down memory lane as much for the band as for the most devoted fan. The quartet, now touring as quintet, lived up to the hype last night at the Center Theater.
Rows of uniform, circular light stacks on the back of stage added vintage beams of glam as the band walked onto stage. Frontwoman and indie rock goddess Jenny Lewis strolled onto the stage with cheery class, sporting a sparkling tiara, white ruffle socks and black platform shoes. (She last played Jackson in 2019 at the Pink Garter Theater). The band launched into 2002’s “Execution of All Things” to kick off the show and it was evident the crowd was in for a fun ride.
Admittedly unfamiliar with some of Rilo Kiley’s back catalog beyond their two breakout albums—2007’s “Under the Blacklight” and 2004’s “More Adventurous”—I have kept up with Lewis’ solo career. For this show, I found this to be a perfect blend of knowing and not knowing. Loved getting reacquainted with brilliant rockers “The Moneymaker” and “Portions for Foxes” alongside discovering a lot along the way that felt new to me, like “With Arms Outstretched,” “Spectacular Views,” the drummer boy snare roll of “A Better Son/Daughter” from 2002’s “Execution of All Things,” and the fanciful bounce of 1999’s “Frug” complete with choreographed dance moves.
Lewis sang “Pictures of Success,” which she superbly penned, “I’m a modern girl, but I fold in half so easily, when I put myself in the picture of success.” This song, in particular, transported me to early 2000s indie rock vibes, a transitional and fruitful time for rock, though rarely as artfully nuanced as that line.
On the money, sharp-witted confidence with copious amounts of tell-it-like-it-is lyricism, Rilo Kiley’s vocal melodies are singular and, at times, unpredictable. Lewis impressively floated from an electric Gibson SG bass to electric Telecaster guitar to Wurlitzer to piano, while Pierre De Reeder swapped electric P-bass and a Gibson ES-335 electric guitar. Co-songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Blake Sennett was tasteful in his accompaniment, adding nuanced rhythm chops to acoustic fingerstyle to searing and shimmering solo runs. The different textures were extremely well thought out, complimentary with the setlist, and swapping instruments added to the tone charm of this band.
There was a solid batch of superfans in the first several rows, a majority of them from out of town and singing every lyric—another testament to the band’s cult following. While the show was officially sold out, the theater appeared to be at about 60 to 70 percent capacity due to uncontrollable ticket scalper fraud. There was chatter of resale tickets available on Stubhub, which has been criticized for being scalper-friendly.
If the music business wasn’t already hard enough, and getting harder every day with an excessive amount of hands in the cookie jar and broken income streams for songwriters, scalpers are the death rattle of late stage capitalism in the industry. That aside, this audience brought it. The band brought it. The venue staff and production crew brought it. See you next time, Rilo Kiley.
Photos: Aaron Davis // Buckrail
