Show Review: Daniel Johnston in Boston
Here’s a review from our good friend Digger from Take This Bread. He recently attended a Daniel Johnston show and here are his thoughts:
I was pretty excited to see Dan Johnston play for the first time this past week at the Paradise in Boston Ma near Boston University. Daniel Johnston is one of those rare songwriters that can capture true human emotion without the bullshit of ego, self delusion and wordiness getting in the way. Daniel is capable of only the truth as he sees it, and his heart is too pure for the rest of us. Although he is oft compared to Brian Wilson because they share mental illness, where they are most alike is the innocence of their music, the connection their songs have with God, and the love they have in their heart. The opening act was the Capitol Years, an average band, going nowhere, not terrible, but lacking charisma or songs to be more than a bar band/cover band.
It seemed like forever till 10:00pm when Dan Johnston finally took the stage alone with his guitar. Trembling a bit, and clumsily strumming his guitar, Johnston’s first few numbers were not impressive, but when joined onstage by the Capitol Years, who double as his touring band, things got interesting as Dan delved deeper into his catalog for songs like “Hey Joe”, Rock and Roll EGA, Fake Records of Rock and Roll, Speeding Motorcycle, and a slew of Beatles/Lennon songs; “A Day In a Life”, “Jealous Guy” and “Hide Your Love Away”. His voice was very good throughout the night, and the performance improved when he was unburdened of the guitar playing by the Capitol Years and his sidekick Brett.
He did enjoy the comfort of reading the lyrics from his book throughout the show only looking up a few times to acknowledge the calls of support from the crowd. The night was riddled with “we love you Daniel!” outbursts, and the packed out Paradise didn’t have more than a handful of people over the age of 25 in the joint, which shows the remarkable resurgence in popularity that Daniel Johnston is enjoying right now.
The night’s climax was the one song Daniel did as an encore; the classic “True Love Will Find You In the End” . Rock and Roll has had a long history of autobiographical songs, from Bo Diddley and Johnny B Goode to Slim Shady, but very few are as good as his ode to his own broken, lonely heart. Great end to the night.
