Jeffrey Lewis, Sunderland Independent

Jeffrey Lewis

August 30th 2009

Jeffrey Lewis is something of a modern day “indie legend.” The New York based singer-songwriter/comic book artist/Watchman-lecturer has gained a large cult following, touring with his unique shows. So it’s with surprise that I learned he would be playing a small show at Sunderland’s Independent, a gig that normally would’ve gone straight to neighbours Newcastle. Throughout the night members of the various American bands on the bill comment that it’s their first time in this city, as the busy, boisterous crowd try to extol the virtues of Sunderland.

The night kicks off with local three-piece Les Cox (sportifs) and their disheveled angular funk sound, matches the mood of tonight perfectly, and warms the crowd for what is about to come. Next up are Jack Lewis & The Fishermen Three, but there is some initial confusion over the line up of the band, which Jeffrey attempts to get to the bottom of during his set. Ready? *Deep breath* The Fishermen Three are really only two people, but tonight they are joined by Jeffrey’s brother, Jack Lewis, who plays in his own band Jack Lewis & Twigs, hence Jack Lewis & The Fishermen Three. This evening they play a mix of both bands songs. Got it? Good. It’s The Fishermen Three’s songs that seem to work better tonight, especially on the ‘50s tinged country feel of ‘Up Up Up.’ That’s not to say that Jack Lewis isn’t good, it just seems tonight’s crowd warm to The Fishermen Three.

After a short wait, Jeffrey Lewis slips quietly onto the stage and opens his set with ‘Gold’; it’s a warm, gentle start, and it sets the evening up for a healthy mix of old and new songs. The majority of the crowd listens intently, hanging on his every word, as he explains how the members of the band found various ways of travelling to Sunderland, and how we’d all united for this gig. He does two low-budget films tonight, one a detective story, the other a history lesson about the Mayflower ship. Both are met with big cheers and comments from certain over-zealous members of the crowd, leading Jeffrey to exclaim that “this is not the DVD commentary version”.

‘Roll Bus Roll’ incites the first big sing-along of the night, with the crowd singing, and swaying along to the beaming front man. After a short tale regarding some time he spent in Maine, what follows is a display of yet another string to his already impressive bow. Rapping about killing mosquitos, he dubs himself the “Mosquito Mass Murderer”. The crowd willingly claps along to the beat, for a thankful Jeffrey, who claims he can’t clap in time at all.

After a short break, comes arguably the highlight of the evening. Drunken chants of The Cribs ‘Another Number’ provoke Jeffrey to declare: “The Cribs are awesome because you can sing any of their songs to the same chords”, and duly he goes onto prove his point by singing a medley of the Wakefield band’s songs, leading to mass sing-alongs and big cheers. There is a lot of love for The Cribs in the room tonight; and at one point even Jeffrey invites the crowd to read from a young lady’s Jeffrey Lewis-designed Cribs t-shirt.

An anarchic ‘No LSD Tonight’ follows, and you get the feeling this is a gig that could’ve gone on all night, until the soundman brings up the music and calls time, and with that he slips off stage with a simple: “enjoy the rest of your night”. Engaging, enthralling and truly entertaining, you’re welcome back in Sunderland anytime, Jeffrey.

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