Daniel Johnston @ First Avenue

Like the last time Johnston came to First Avenue, his set last week was split intro three equal portions. The first section found Johnston playing solo, the middle saw him joined by an acoustic guitarist, and Johnston was joined by a full band for the final set. While Johnstons’ last show was entertaining at the start and lost steam as other musicians joined Johnston, Thursday night was the exact opposite.

Johnston came on stage around 8:45 to a loud ovation from an adoring crowd and perched on stage with his travel sized acoustic guitar and his song binders resting on a music stand. He was in good spirits and seemed to appreciate the ¾ full First Avenue crowd. At one point he told a story about having a dream and seeing someone about to be executed for failing at their suicide attempt. Johnston recalled standing in the back of the court room screaming to let the man go, because he realized it was him who was about to be sentenced; not all of his humor was so dark however. He asked what city he was in with a sheepish grin on his face at one point during the set, with the crowd quickly taking the bait and yelling “Minneapolis!”

For his solo portion, Johnston’s guitar playing was a little more sloppy than it was when he last took the stage at First Avenue, but it is still great to hear his amazing songs stripped down to their bare essential. Daniel seemed to acknowledge that his guitar playing was a little rough when he apologized after one song, joking that “there will be no refunds.” I don’t know if it is possible, but I would love to see him play some of the songs on keyboard in the future. So many of his classics featured him on piano or organ and I think this would really add a lot to his show.

For the middle portion of the set he was joined by Brett Hartenbach, who accompanied Johnston by playing acoustic guitar, and they started out with a haunted version of “Life in Vain.” Having Hartenbach assist him on guitar allowed Johnston to focus more on singing and worry less about hitting all the right chords. Where at the last show this took away from the poignancy of his solo performance, it actually helped on Thursday night. With Johnston struggling on guitar, he seemed relieved to have his old friend on stage to support him. Like his last time through, Johnston and his Hartenbach played a great version of the John Lennon penned “You’ve Got to Hide Your Live Away.” Lennon’s depressed and claustrophobic lyrics fit right in with Johnston’s self described songs of pain. He took a break after the middle section and came back for the finale with the support of local band Knife World (who also opened the show).

The fact that he called the band “Knife Fork” didn’t take away from the fact that their powerful backing seemed to really invigorate him. Highlights of the set with Knife World included a bouncing “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” “Speedy Motorcycle,” a cover of the Beatles’ “I’m So Tired” and “Rock and Roll/Ega;” all of which seemed to come to life with a full band behind them.

Like with his recordings, Daniel Johnston live is less about technical proficiency and more about the redemptive qualities of music and ability of human nature to overcome whatever situations we are confronted with. Johnston’s frank and direct songs deal with the struggles he has faced every day of his life and seeing him live only drives home the point that there is no pretension in his often heartbreaking lyrics. While he seems to be doing well, he still trembles on stage and clearly isn’t 100% comfortable in front of an audience, even after all these years. I am glad that Johnston has the support of friends and family that allows him to be in a position to travel around the country to play his undeniably great songs to the scores of people who have been touched by his music.

[Review and videos by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm]

Daniel Johnston: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia
Knife World: MySpace

Also: Daniel Johnston @ First Avenue (2008)