Daniel Johnston Rocks the Party that Rocks the Body
Had the good fortune of catching Daniel Johnston’s performance at the Highline Ballroom last Thursday. Daniel was magical as always, kicking off the show with a solo rendition of “Mean Girls Give Pleasure”. The crowd sufficiently amused, the sorry entertainer dropped another relatively new track “There Is A Sense of Humour Way Beyond Friendship”. I had just assumed he would have called the song “Hold on Mama” or perhaps even “Some Help”, but no.
Daniel paused to tell a story about a nightmare he had recently. In his dream, a man attempted suicide, but failed. Ironically, he was arrested for his transgression and sentenced to death. At this point in the dream Mr. Johnston realized that he is that man and let out a hearty “Nooooooooooo!” The crowd back in his pocket, D.J. rocked out with a few more records accompanied by his pal Brett on acoustic guitar. Highlights included “Hey Joe” and an enthusiastic cover of The Beatles “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”.
Following a short break Daniel took the stage once again, now with the Spanish Prisoners backing him up. This was my first experience seeing him with a band and I have to say the results were mixed. “Walking the Cow” worked well, but the keyboard and drums seemed to throw Daniel off rhythm during the encore of “True Love Will Find You in the End”.
Perhaps I was spoiled by the intimate show Daniel put on at Spiegelworld last fall and I always have high expectations when he’s in town, but I was a little disappointed with the show. That’s not to say that it was bad, because it certainly wasn’t, it just wasn’t his best outing in New York. I suppose I just like my Daniel Johnston the way I like my free time, alone, crazy and wearing old sweatpants.
[UPDATE - 3/4/2008]
The Onion’s AV Club has a great interview with Daniel Johnston, taken shortly before his trip to New York. My favorite part, “I’m trying to lose weight, and it really makes me mad, because I haven’t been able to. I want to get some girls and try to look all right. I’m drinking diet soda and everything.”
[More Video of the 2-21-2008 Daniel Johnston Highline Show - YouTube]
[Spiegelworld (more specifically Daniel Johnston at Spiegelworld!)]
[Interview with Daniel Johnston - The Onion’s A.V. Club]
