Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band
March 20, 2013 at the Fox Theater in Oakland
Grade: B-
Josh Ritter redeemed himself after an uneven start Wednesday at Oakland's Fox Theater.
For the first half an hour, pacing and, strangely, seating arrangement betrayed Ritter and his backing group, the Royal City Band.
Song selection zig zagged wildly in mood from one song to the next. "Evil Eye," a quiet folk number from the newly released The Beast in its Tracks, segued into foot-stomping fan favorite "Lillian, Egypt," a jolting juxtaposition in mood from one song to the next.
So went the early gig's going, Ritter's largest Bay Area headlining show to date.
Beast songs comprised most of the set. While "Evil Eye" missed the mark, most of the Beast songs snuggled comfortably with familiar Ritter material. "Playing new songs is like bringing people home to meet your folks," Ritter told the crowd Wednesday at Oakland's Fox Theater with a chuckle.
The seating arrangement, too, was a surprising and confusing factor.
Typically, first-floor concertgoers at the Fox Theater have general admission tickets while the balcony offers reserved seating. Unlike most performances, however, Wednesday's show used reserved seating throughout the venue.
Why this was done is not immediately clear. What it did, especially in the scattershot opening 30 minutes, was keep the crowd at a distance from Ritter, draining him of the energy off of which a performer can feed.
What saved Ritter wasn't trying to overpower the crowd with his louder, rockier efforts to fill the larger venue, but, instead, to dial the noise down and bring the crowd to him.
Making the large venue feel intimate gave Ritter power. Once he had them, he cruised in quiet terrain.
He followed a solo acoustic rendition of "The Temptation of Adam" with an unamplified, stage-lights-out rendition of, fittingly, "In the Dark." In order to be heard, the Fox Theater crowd quieted such that the unmic'd Ritter dueled with venue's ventilation system to be heard.
With the crowd captivated, he followed with a reading of newcomer "The Appleblossom Rag" as a duet with bassist Zack Hickman.
Humor, too, loosened the crowd. During a line of praise for the Fox Theater, Ritter said, "To be able to come to a town that has so many juice places is a true honor," leading to repeated joking references to juicing throughout the evening.
With the crowd engaged, Ritter had license to return to a few upstart efforts. "Right Moves" and "Kathleen" were greated warmly. By the time the show ended with "To the Dogs or Whoever," much of the crowd ditched its chairs to stand and clap.
After a rocky start, Ritter — who sported his most elaborate stage setup to date — had made his case for headlining a venue as big as the Fox Theater.
However, he would be wise to insist on ditching any chairs that aren't already bolted down for his next visit.
Setlist
Idaho
Southern Pacifica
New Lover
Harrisburg
Third Arm
Evil Eye
Lillian, Egypt
The Curse
Joy to You Baby
The Temptation of Adam
In the Dark
Snow is Gone
The Appleblossom Rag
Folk Bloodbath
In Your Arms Again
Good Man
Hopeful
Bonfire
Roll On
Right Moves
Kathleen
Change of Time
Encore
Lights
To the Dogs or Whoever
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