Rilo Kiley on April 24, 2008 at The Glass House
By Gabriel Ryan

Better Than: Driving all the way to Coachella and sweating your ass off.

Download: Rilo Kiley's With Arms Outstretched

I think last night was one of the most interesting Rilo Kiley shows I've ever attended. For one, the crowd was antsy because of technical difficulties throughout the set, and two, I don’t think half of the audience knew any of the songs played other than what was on the new album. The night started off with the crowd packed in like sardines and then by a half-hour into the set, you could see the crowd slowly diminishing. Probably, because they just played their most “popular” songs off of Under The Blacklight.

Despite the flaky crowd, Jenny Lewis’ voice was spot on. With slower renditions of their older songs, she belted out the tunes like it was her last show ever—which it definitely wasn’t because the band is playing Coachella this Saturday. Perhaps Coachella is to blame for the lack of crowd participation, perhaps not. But a lot of people could be heard dreading the long trip to the desert, which many of them were traveling to after the show.

To add to the interesting evening, there were a lot of perverts in the crowd. Perverts, everywhere I tell you. One example of the night being a middle-aged man who loudly described sexual acts that he’d like to perform on Jenny Lewis, and the amount of magazines he’d already ruined containing her picture. He spoke with such passion, like he was giving a retirement speech. When I turned around to glare at him, he looked at me as if I was dying to join his conversation and says to me, “You know what I mean… right?”

Actually, no sir. I don’t. I prefer Blake Sennett myself…

Critic's Notebook

Personal Bias: I am a huge Rilo Kiley fan. I would go to their show even if they were covering Britney Spears and Hannah Montana songs with a kazoo.

Random Detail: One complaint about last night. . . fucking under-aged kids and their cell phones! Why must you talk on your cell phone in the middle of the show? Text your little hearts out, but take the conversation outside.

By The Way: View pictures of the performance here.