Live: Josh Ritter at the Landmark, Port Washington

Since I am willing to travel pretty crazy distances to see Josh Ritter play (about 5000 miles so far this year), it was certainly a treat to drive only twenty minutes to the Jeanne Rimsky Theatre at Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington for my most recent show. Josh was in the midst of a very short solo tour (two shows) when he came out to Long Island a few weeks ago.

The venue, a school auditorium (albeit, a very nice school auditorium), was perfect for a solo show, which typically features a good deal of storytelling. As usual, Josh requested the lights to be turned out and we were treated to a pitch-black version of “Lantern.” As he sang, the audience provided the light he asked for (“So if you’ve got a light, hold it high for me”) by holding up their cell phones. It was a powerful moment. As I struggled to keep the screen of my cell phone lit, my husband declined to participate, fearing that the strobe light app that he had on his phone, “might kill someone.”

A huge highlight for me came with Josh’s performance of “California.” This was the first song of his that I heard in 2006 when I was visiting the Ruckus’ own, Cheryl, in Los Angeles. My father had died a few months earlier, and it was a difficult and confusing time in my life. (Fun fact: I had just quit a job that I worked at for one day. It was so terrifying that I didn’t check my email for two weeks, fearing a nasty response from my employer, and instead bought a standby ticket to LA and left the state. Oh yeah, did I mention that I quit via email? Classy.) I was questioning pretty much all of my life choices. Driving around Los Angeles with Cheryl (to visit Buffy locations) while listening to that song helped me find some peace.

Josh Ritter – California

Josh is setting out on a slightly longer solo tour (with two trio shows to start) next week, so check that out if you can. I’ll be representing the Ruckus in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Nov 11 – York, PA (trio show with Zack Hickman and Mark Erelli)
Nov 12 – Richmond, VA (trio show with Zack Hickman and Mark Erelli)
Nov 14 – Tampa, FL
Nov 15 – Orlando, FL
Nov 16 – St. Augustine, FL
Nov 18 – Atlanta, GA
Nov 19 – Charlotte, NC

Our friend and all around awesome dude Brian Stowell took some video during the show: