FRANK MARASCO/DAILY FREE PRESS
If Great Scott had couches — or even seats, for that matter — it would have felt as if Sean Bonnette of Andrew Jackson Jihad was playing in your living room Tuesday night.
The casual lineup of mostly solo acoustic acts added to the venue’s homey atmosphere. Dan Webb and the Spiders opened the night as a duo, playing like those guys who break out guitars at the end of a long night of drinking. They know we don’t know the songs, but no one complains.
Jason Anderson played second and, despite being relatively unknown, he brought an electrifying energy to the room. With a little luck and a lot of echoes written into his songs, he had the entire crowd singing by the end of his 40-minute set.
Ian Graham of Cheap Girls followed, crooning lyrics about how he loves you and also loves smoking. Following Anderson’s stage antics, it was relaxing to have just a guy and a guitar refusing to make eye contact with the audience. It made me feel as if I was at home watching someone practice. For just a minute there, I forgot there were stage lights and sound booths and instead felt as if I were watching a friend who wanted everyone to get out of his apartment so he could keep playing.
After these acts, it was time for the real show. Bonnette had no set list, and instead had placed a sheet of paper on the merchandise table at the beginning of the night where the audience could write requests.
When the sheet had been exhausted he polled the crowd by show of hands for what to play.
The thing about Bonnette and Andrew Jackson Jihad is that there are no “big hits.” As a relatively below-the-radar kind of band, if you know one song, you probably know all the songs and that was clear from the second Bonnette walked on stage.
The night opened with “Growing Up” from the 2008 EP Only God Can Judge Me, a song with a simple message about how growing up is the worst. Every person in the crowd knew the words and sang along. In many ways, we weren’t here to hear Bonnette, and instead were here to jam with him. The singing didn’t stop until Bonnette played unreleased tracks, and by the end of those most members of the audience at least had the chorus.
Andrew Jackson Jihad plays a mix of folk and a mix of punk. The recorded tracks change depending on the album and seemingly what instruments Bonnette and band mate Ben Gallaty (who was not on tour) have lying around. Lyrics blend relatable self-deprecation with ridiculous antics and an obsession with violence.
While that combination — as well as the name of the band — may sound a little too rough for some, the final product is surprisingly mellow, or at least not as terrifying as songs titled “Truckers and Blood” sound.
The night carried on with songs of both high and low energy. If Bonnette didn’t move straight from one track to another there was light conversation between the crowd and the stage while the next song was carefully selected, and by carefully, I mean whoever yelled a recommendation loudest got his or her song chosen.
The entire night felt a bit like 2 a.m. when the bar is closing and everyone is singing along with the last song, even if they don’t know the words. The crowd was drunk on energy, camaraderie and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
And though Anderson played second in the night, he ended up summarizing it perfectly when he leaned in to the crowd and asked, “Isn’t it a wonderful thing when you get to sing with your friends and complete strangers?”
Yes. Yes it is
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