I’ve gotten some feedback on the Nashville Star piece and it’s all been positive. So, what I’m saying is… yours had better be positive as well.

I went down to the Exit/In last night to see Jeremy Lister‘s “The Show.” It was quite a sight. I go to most shows alone and every once in a while, I’ll walk into one and think “who the hell are these people?” It’s like I’ve wandered into a different town or something. Such was the case last night. The air was thick with lesbians. And men in slacks. That’s right: it was a singer-songwriter kinda crowd.

Luckily, friends showed up soon after I arrived insuring that I would not be alone with my inappropriate laughter.

The entire evening had a circus sideshow theme to it. There were six “acts” (each one musical). The first four were solo singer-songwriters. One almost started to rock but then eased off the gas. The fifth act was a duo with a real Captain and Tennile vibe which was frankly, kind of nauseating. Then finally, Jeremy Lister performed solo before he brought on a couple of accompanists, then a barbershop quartet, then his full band. His songs are pretty enjoyable. And the whole show that he put on was really well done.

I think you can separate the wheat from the chaff of singer-songwriters pretty quickly by sorting out those who are mortified of rhythm. If there’s a whole bunch of delicately plucked arpeggios and quietly strummed chords, they will suck forever. But Lister has some nice build-and-release moments in his songs and he usually has a good backbeat so even if I can’t remember any of the tunes, I remember enjoying hearing them.

The show was looking grim for a good five acts, but Lister made up for it. And actually, as hard to watch as the Captain and Tennile act were, it was kind of amusing. But I’ll tell you this: when I got in the car, I turned up “99 Problems” very loudly.