(c) Eric Ryan Anderson
I was standing in the middle of the crowd at Exit/In on November 6, when a guy walked past me with a sly smile. He stopped a few feet away from me, tightened his belt and proceeded to watch the opening act of Thursday’s show. Soon girls and guys alike approached the young man, asking to take selfies with him. It was, in fact, Tommy Siegel of Jukebox the Ghost, who was standing on stage himself moments later.
When Jukebox the Ghost opened their set with flutes playing the Titanic’s theme song slightly off key, I knew I was in for something different. The band had just released their newest, self-titled record two weeks prior, unapologetically unleashing more or less unknown material on Music City. Tommy Siegel sang the new song “Long Way Home” and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ben Gibbard’s angelic voice of Death Cab for Cutie. On the other hand, Ben Thornewill’s vocals, piano skills and theatrical elements reminded of Queen. What a magical combination. Nashville hadn’t seen anything like this in a while, and we needed it. Enough indie-folk, Americana, if-I-hear-one-more-banjo-kill-me-now music. Finally, someone is bringing excitement and fun back!
But not only was the music exquisite, the boys were also very entertaining and personable, joking about a recent encounter with a pimp and his prostitutes. Initially they were oblivious to their new friends’ profession, but soon realized in what situation they found themselves and then remembered that they had signed one of the prostitutes’ shirts earlier that evening. Thornewill laughed and added: “This happens all the time,” then went on to play “The Great Unknown” – because it seemed fitting, he said.
This three-piece band may be from D.C. but feels very LA. Maybe it’s the summery happy tunes that would pair perfectly with a Coachella-like setting. Overall: Bravo, Jukebox the Ghost! You managed to momentarily make Nashville forget about our depressing cold wintery weather and transported us back to summer, as our feet more or less started dancing on their own. So…when can we see you again?
