Lindsey Shines

Lindsey performed at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills at the Writers Guild Theater on October 29, 2010. He was the final act of an entertaining evening and he did four songs: Shut Us Down, Trouble, Never Going Back Again and Big Love. Read the review below and see more pictures and discussion here on The Ledge forum.

As I was walking to my seat, I passed Lindsey and Kristin sitting in the audience. All night long, I fought the urge to crain my neck and look around at him, to see how he was reacting to the music and comedians on stage, especially when Randy Newman sang "I Love L. A." It reminded me of the video and that reminded me of both Lindsey and Christine (tear).

The Ryan Adams band was the first musical act to perform and Adams was very good. Competitive streak emerging however, I hoped he wouldn't be as good as Lindsey. When Ryan asked his wife Mandy Moore to come up on stage and sing with him I thought, "Darn it! Kristin needs to go up there and perform with Lindsey, too. If she can't sing, she can at least go up and design a chair or something."

Ryan made jokes about having to cut his 30 minute guitar and harmonica solos in the interest of time. And then he mimed how good his guitar solo would have been and the inspired, tortured faces he would have made while playing. I had to laugh, because it reminded me of the faces Lindsey really does make during a solo. I laughed again when Garry Shandling took the stage and mocked Ryan's singing wife saying, "I'd like to ask my girlfriend Laura to come up on stage. I didn't know she sang. How awkward."

Lindsey was the final act. Judd said that he asked Lindsey to be in the show first and that he built the rest of it around LB. Clearly, Judd is a sagacious man, who should be honored for his strong taste and judgment always. He said that some music has always been in your life. It's the fabric you've grown up with and that's how it is for him and Fleetwood Mac. He remembers how great it was seeing them for the first time on the Tusk tour. Then, what a privilege it was to actually go to Sony with Adam Sandler and see Fleetwood Mac rehearse last year. He said he got that same thrill last week when he saw them rehearse again. He added that he always listens to Lindsey's music while writing his scripts. Hey Judd, why don't you put Lindsey's music in your scripts? Fiona Apple was in the audience and he just told Fiona that he had a song of hers in his next movie. I don't know why Lindsey's not all over that soundtrack.

Lindsey comes out and he looks thinner. His boots are more scuffed. His forehead more prominent. He's wearing a pinstripe black suit coat, but the rest of his uniform is the same. He starts with a spirited, intense version of Shut Us Down. It's not my favorite song, but it's been so long since I've heard it and Lindsey's vocals are so fierce, that I'm infused with joy. He stops to talk for a moment. He says he doesn't really know Judd and was surprised to get the call from him, but he's since found out that they live "dangerously close" to one another, so he intends to get to know Judd better and, in fact, the guy probably won't be able to get rid of him. He recalls that time a year and a half ago when Judd and Adam Sandler came to see FM rehearse, after shooting their movie Funny People.

Because of the small size of the stage and the fact it was so cluttered, Lindsey couldn't move. It was strange to see him so stationary. I wanted everyone else there to get a taste of the boundless energy we all know so well. Everyone seems more than appreciative, all the same.

Lindsey follows SUD with Trouble, which the audience recognizes immediately. Then, he begins an unfamiliar intro, before starting to play the familiar chords of NGBA, which also gets an instant round of applause from the opening notes. People stand as it ends, the first standing ovation of the night. He finishes with Big Love, saying it's about change in 2 senses. First, it was an ensemble number from some album called Tango in the Night which he thinks must have been written in, uh, 1987. I feel like running up to the stage and saying, "Listen, you. Stop trying to be cute! You know darn well when you wrote that song." Anyway, he continues that he converted the song into a solo piece. But it's also about change in a much more important way, because when he wrote it, he was guarded, looking out for love in defensive mode, trying to avoid it. That's not true anymore and all that remains is an echo of the guarded man he used to be. It's a song that was once about alienation and now it's about change.

After the song is over, he quickly leaves the stage. I was glad to see him in such fine form and can't wait for the new album and (hopefully) tour in 2011.