My Orchestra is Gigantic
On a dreary afternoon this summer, Josh Ritter rushed into the lobby of a Midtown hotel looking scattered. He apologized for being latethe traffic had been heinous on his drive down from Bostonand we decided to decompress over a couple of beers at an empty bar next door. Once we settled onto some stools and started talking, it was apparent that his excited state had less to do with the car ride than other, more important things going on in his life: His new album, The Historical Conquests of John Ritter, had hit record store shelves that morning.
The verdict from critics was already in, and it was nearly unanimous that the new release, much like its 2006 predecessor The Animal Years, was destined to end up on many year-end lists. Both albums are great illustrations of Ritters tremendous talent as a poet and unabashedly announce Ritters influencesmost notably Dylan, Springsteen and Paul Simon. But Conquests is the yang to the yin of Animal Years. The production is looser and the songs are a little more ragged and rambunctious. The result is a mood that feels more lighthearted. We wanted the music to sound as swirly and spontaneous as the lyrics do sometimes, Ritter explained.
Ritter talked at length about being an artist, and the important role music plays in our lives. I feel like there are fewer and fewer cultural watering holes where everybody can go for a [shared] experience, he said. But a community develops around music. [A concert] is one of the few places that people can meet a stranger and have something in common. And its an amazing thing to be part of that. Ritter is quite involved in that community, and not just as the catalyst. After his shows, instead of hiding out in his dressing room or tour bus, he hangs out in the lobby and chats with his fans until everyones gone.
Since Ritter is so in tune with his fans, and since hes been coming through here on tour for eight years, I asked him if he shared my sentiment that New York crowds are a little more stoic than in other cities. People are just trying to find out if they like you, and you cant make a crowd get into something if theyre not into it. People can tell whether or not youre bullshitting, he explained. And if youre honest and they can see youre putting a lot of work into it, they appreciate it.
NYC evidently does appreciate Ritter. The night after we talked, he played a CD release party at The Box to a full house that was singing along to songs that had been out only a day. This week hes finishing up the North American leg of his tour with a sold-out show at Webster Hall.
Nov. 9, Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St. (betw. 3rd & 4th Aves.), 212-353-1600; 7, $20. [SOLD OUT]