(This originally appeared in Soundcheck Magazine)

Aimee Mann
at the Orpheum Theater, October 4, 2002
with Juliana Hatfield

Aimee Mann is riding high. The former Bostonian has been justifiably heaped with praise for her work on the soundtrack for Magnolia, and she has continued with her sardonic, sophisticated songcraft on the recently released “Lost In Space,” promoting it at the perfect local setting, the Orpheum. With acoustics to die for and nary a bad seat in the house, Mann and her five piece band dressed up for the occasion, wearing suits (at least until Mann, dressed in a gray three-piece, doffed her jacket, saying, “We wanted to dress up for you, but it’s too fucking hot up here!”), and filled the room with the textured sounds of her repertoire.

The band kicked off with “The Moth,” a slow-ish number from the new album that featured Mann singing in a Dylan-like whine, building in volume and tempo until the mid-song instrumental break, when the band let rip. The song, like many of Mann’s songs, had vague lyrics built on metaphors (“The moth don’t care when he sees the flame/ He might get burned, but he’s in the game") that seem to have more meaning than they rightfully should. Another common thread throughout many of Mann’s songs tonight was that rarely did they start off bright and loud; rather, on songs like “Deathly” from the Magnolia soundtrack, or “Lost in Space” and “Humpty-Dumpty” from the new album, things would start off slow and bluesy, gradually building up to screaming guitar solos and atmospheric organ fills, with Mann and her band harmonizing to fill out the sound. Mann’s songs draw the listener in so gradually as to almost creep up on him, and while it might seem like an over played hand upon inspection, in reality it was quite effective and enjoyable.

Mann had a warm rapport with the crowd, telling stories about the first concert she saw at the Orpheum 17 years ago (it was Elvis Costello), humorously comparing Boston to Los Angeles, and receiving ovation after ovation. Other songs in her set included “Susan” from the “Bachelor No. 2” disc, “Wise Up,” “That’s Just What You Are,” “I Should’ve Known,” and “Voices Carry.” Mann came back for three encores, thanking Juliana Hatfield for her strong opening performance, and thanking the fans for their warm reception. Mann might never be the most visible musician, but as she proved at the Orpheum, she is quite adored in Boston.

-Neal Alpert