Jeffrey Lewis = a one man whirlwind, blazing trails of creative sparks and leaving all us silly folk just gasping in wonder. “Can he be that cool and sincere and self-aware?” Yes, thankfully, he can.

Last Thursday night’s Big Orange (Austin, Texas) show was special for two reasons:
1. Enthused music fans driving in from miles off to partake of Lewis’ legend, giving the whole scene an excited anticipation that one might not normally find at any type of music
show/revue/what-have-you, although really great magic shows have been known to share this feeling.
2. A pile of free beer given to us by a SXSW after-party. I myself chose a “Sparks” caffeinated malt-liquor beverage, designed to look like a really huge AA battery.

Lewis charged the stage with ease and kept the crowd hushed to hear his nimble and witty songs (including early favorite “Seattle”) about living the artistic life, self-doubt, redemption, getting humped by Will Oldham, and the illustrated history of Communism in Russia.

Ah yes, Lewis’ “History of Communism, Part 2.” He told us all about Stalin, Trotsky, the Reds, the Whites, and Frida Kahlo in his self-described “low-budget video” — exquisitely drawn, weathered,
worn, and battered sheathes of paper holding illustrations accompanying the song. As the story progressed, a page flipped. It was revelatory and mind-blowing in its wit, directness, and simplicity. Not to mention a really cool history lesson. Youtube it if you don’t believe me.

To free his hands for the necessary page-turning, he’d pre-recorded a backing track, fed through a hand-held tape recorder. The resulting guitar tone had a sweet distortion not heard by these ears since “Jumping Jack Flash” — a similar tape distortion technique was used on that recording.

In addition, some clever back-and-forth banter between real Jeff and tape-recorder Jeff. And besides all that, just a really cool artist, living his art, loving the act of creation, and sharing it with a hungry crowd.

He closed the show with another low-budget video, “Creeping Brain,” which described a giant pulsing brain’s journey from violence to wisdom. Laughter could probably be heard down the block. Go Jeffrey go! Pure genius.

Jeffrey Lewis Official Site