On the evening of February 20th, MJ Lenderman and The Wind stopped at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon to perform for a sold out crowd. A synchronized moment, as frontman Jake Lenderman was here on the same stage nine months ago to the date with Asheville, North Carolina based band, Wednesday.
You may recognize 26-year-old Lenderman from when he played drums for fellow Asheville native Indigo de Souza, or maybe you remember him as the airboat operator in Waxahatchee’s video for “Right Back To It,” a duet in which Lenderman accompanies Katie Crutchfield to explore the feelings of romantic doubt. More commonly, he is known for playing guitar and harmonizing with singer-songwriter/guitarist Karly Hartzman in earlier mentioned band, Wednesday – a dynamic group of individuals from North Carolina playing music deemed by some listeners as “countrygaze” and “creek rock.”
Wednesday fans know him as Jake, but solo and in The Wind he dons a stage name of MJ, an abbreviation of his first and middle name, and an ode to basketball Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan. There is no confirmation on this, but I speculate that the band’s name is inspired by an excerpt titled “A Love, a Wind” from Richard Brautigan’s 1968 novel, In Watermelon Sugar.
On this tour run in support of his rising alt-country September 2024 release, Manning Fireworks, Lenderman is backed by Jon Samuels on guitar, Colin Miller on drums, Landon George on bass, Xandy Chelmis on pedal steel and fiddle, and Ethan Baechtold on keys. Chelmis and Baechtold being familiar faces as they also lend their talent in Wednesday.
With the sweet and smoky smell of two incense sticks burning on top of amp stacks filling the venue, the band kicked off the set with an elongated instrumental intro packed with fuzzy guitar tones and slow drum beats. A large backdrop by artist Matthew Reed evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for a hazy late night barbecue somewhere in the South. Lenderman, standing tall, stepped up to the mic donning the Fender Jazzmaster he’s had since high school and a pair of beat up dark brown Dansko clogs. In a vocal styling resemblant of deceased Sparklehorse frontman, Mark Linkous, Lenderman stoically sang the words “I saw you rolling across the floor, ghost of your guitar solo.” He’s got a marvelous persona. For the spirit of college radio journalism, I held up my iPhone SE in the press pit to snap a few photos. I accepted that I would not be able to fully capture the essence of the performance and let the photographers around me with their fancy cameras try to accomplish that.
The group ran through a few tracks off Manning Fireworks and “Joker Lips” brought excitement to two young guys in front of me, their carabiners jingling with every jump, loudly shouting “yeah, you know I love my tv, but all I really wanna see is see you need me.” As hits off the 2022 album Boat Songs rang across the venue, Chelmis’ neon green lap steel demanded attention through it’s gritty cries, and George wielded a unique vibrancy matching his Precision bass that has shed its finish down to the wood. Samuels with a red Telecaster in hand energetically moved around his side of the stage, occasionally facing Lenderman as they joined in conversation with only their guitars. Baechtold’s work on keys helped to beautifully bring to life the transcendent “Pianos,” assumingly the newest MJ Lenderman release — featured on Cardinals At The Window, an October 2024 Bandcamp benefit compilation for hurricane relief in western North Carolina. Lenderman proves throughout the set that he is not one to shy away from a simple yet moving guitar solo. Take note that he does not use a pick.
Chelmis and his fiddle were highlighted during “Rip Torn,” a haunting song about a drunken man who passes out in a bowl of Lucky Charms and talks nonsense about milkshakes and smoothies. I watched from the balcony above as attendees pulled out their phones to take videos during “She’s Leaving You,” sounds of affirmation shouted in the direction of Chelmis once again, as he sang backing vocals in place of Hartzman. Arms went up for the very apparent crowd pleaser, “Wristwatch,” and a group of younger folks at the barricade jumped up and down and sang along with their mouths wide open.
After singing about a clarinet doing a lonesome duck walk during “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In,” and late nights with the video game Guitar Hero during “Bark at the Moon,” Lenderman filled the room with a sullen mood as he played a powerful and heart wrenching rendition of “No Mercy” off his EP Lucky that came out back in December 2019. Lenderman’s croon-like delivery of the lyrics “to say that I love you is more than the truth, it is the drywall under my roof” followed by the increasing agony in a repetitious scream of the words “my pain,” left bodies in the crowd completely still, and the woman seated next to me with her face in her hands. The song may be five years old, but the ache behind it felt fresh.
The band left the stage, allowing the audience to linger with the effects of the song. Moments later, the bassist stood center stage, held up a can of Hamm’s beer, and in a Southern drawl explained and demonstrated how to remove the top of the can with a can opener. The crowd cheered and the rest of the band joined the bassist, with Lenderman introducing Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers as he stepped out from backstage to perform his 2004 song “Uncle Disney” alongside The Wind.
To close things out, the band played two upbeat, catchy, and clever songs. “Hangover Game” speculates the truth behind Michael Jordan’s illness during the 1997 NBA Finals in Utah – containing the classic one liner, “it wasn’t the pizza, and it wasn’t the flu, yeah I love drinking, too.” These lyrics can be found in white print on a green koozie at the merch booth during the tour. The hour and a half set ended on a high note with “Knockin’,” a simple yet profound song about love, coded through memories of seeing John Daly perform “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and leaving ID at the hardware store. Applause filled the room, Lenderman expressed his thanks, waved, and blew a kiss to the crowd.
A feeling of gratitude washed over me on the six block walk back to my truck. Influenced by lyrics from “You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In,” I thought to myself, “only one thing can round this night out perfectly, and that is some late night McDonald’s.” We all know it only tastes good after 11PM. While I did not sit under a half mast flag, I did sit in my truck in the drive-thru line of a 24-hour McDonald’s located next to a switchyard. The buzzing of electricity, a ringing in my ears, and Live and Loose! softly playing on the stereo accompanied the devouring of six McNuggets dipped in tangy barbecue sauce.
Lenderman and company will return to Portland for back to back shows at Revolution Hall later this year on September 15th and 16th.
According to a recently published GQ article, Lenderman will no longer be touring with Wednesday, but will continue to record with the band. A bittersweet announcement for Wednesday fans. It’s clear that Lenderman’s solo adventure is shaping up to be big enough to buy a beach home up in Buffalo.
———————————————————————————————————————————
Sid Elliott aka DJ Ricky Friday is the host of Marvelous Persona on KPSU, Portland’s College Radio. You can tune in every Tuesday from 5PM-6PM on kpsu.org.
