The Milk Carton Kids held their variety show, Sad Songs Comedy Hour, at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, CA on March 25, 2019. The acoustic guitar dynamic duo and smooth as silk close-harmony singers, Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, created a crackerjack show for a sold out theater full of fans.
The night kicked off with actor and singer John C. Reilly bounding on to the stage to a rousing cheer and abundant applause as he welcomed the audience. Any time John is on the Largo stage, it ups the enjoyment level an extra few notches. As he began introducing the show, he paused and said, “I’m John C. Reilly.” Gesturing to off stage, “They told me, ‘Make sure you introduce yourself.'” The audience laughed — clearly he had been recognized before his introduction. John shrugged and quipped, “I’m in the groundwater by this point.”
The Milk Carton Kids immediately took care of the sad songs claim for the show by beginning their set with the solemn song “Snake Eyes” from their album The Ash & Clay. It was probably best that they played this sad folk tune about death early on, as the banter between the two bandmates as the evening progressed led to small feints at sabotaging concentration and seriousness of mood. Usually this went in the direction of Joey to Kenneth, though Kenneth had a few of his own well-placed jabs.
Their second song was one of my favorites due to Kenneth’s guitar runs and the interwoven harmonies of their voices — the captivating “New York,” from the album Prologue. When finished playing, Joey noted the applause went “slightly longer than normally,” after which Kenneth suggested there are different types of clappers and maybe we were the more enthusiastic type. Joey remarked that he didn’t think so, but that there are “good performers and bad performers; and we just did g o o d.”
Joey then pointed out that the songs on the set list, “Adhere to a secret theme.” Kenneth wondered when Joey was going to tell his bandmate about it. The secret theme was that every song has a place name mentioned in it. The audience cheered for that. Kenneth teased Joey on his lack of thought regarding how the set list had been constructed. Joey responded, “I didn’t mean to think,” that he actually just noticed it. Then, regarding the audience, he added, “Did you hear how excited they got about it? I’ve got my finger on the pulse!”
The pair then performed “A Sea of Roses” from their most recent album, All the Things I Did and All The Things I Didn’t Do. This introspective song sprung from Kenneth’s experience with thyroid cancer and he delicately and beautifully voiced the verses, with Joey joining in on harmony in the chorus. This tune contains heartfelt, evocative lyrics such as, “I’m scared that when I die I’ll be alone with no one sitting by my side,” and “Where hills, they rise for miles and miles, I recognize the cryin’ in the wind; I hear people come from everywhere to say goodbye sweet-like to their kin.” They followed this one with the reference-packed song “Memphis” from their album The Ash & Clay. In it they touch on inspirations from Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, and Paul Simon. “God Bless the souls that shook up mine” they sang, even as their own voices shake up the souls hearing The Milk Carton Kids’ performance at Largo that very night. I’ve borrowed their lyric for my post title.
All the Things I Did and All The Things I Didn’t Do
Kenneth began introducing their upcoming guests with a story about how he got a free ticket for his friend’s Broadway show. He wondered if his friend paid for him or if it was actually a free ticket. Joey remarked that when he had seen the show, he had to pay for his ticket. John C. Reilly leaned out from the side of the curtain and stage whispered, “There’s no free tickets on Broadway!” After a little more banter about who might be liked more, the friend referred to in the discussion, Mike Birbiglia, along with his wife, poet Jen Hope Stein, took the stage and read excerpts from said show, The New One.
The subject of The New One is essentially how having a baby affects the relationship between a couple. The performance mostly consisted of Mike doing short stand-up type monologues with Jen voicing some of her own lines as the mother and reading poetry she has written about their daughter and motherhood. If you are a parent (especially of a child under the age of 5), you are sure to relate to some of the conversations, scenarios, and thoughts of the couple in the show. My favorite poem that Jen read, was one about playing on the beach with her daughter. She gave her mom a stone and said, “This is your power,” and as they ran around reminded her mom, “Don’t lose your power.” That line had a special and nuanced feeling to it that really pulled me into the scene. For Mike’s part, he mostly talked about how he didn’t want a child for multiple reasons, the awe he felt watching his wife go through pregnancy, how when his daughter was born he felt like he was a “vice president” in his house, and how it took time for him to find his own way to connect with the child. The show will be performed in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre in the autumn (I’m afraid you are going to have to pay for tickets unless you have some Kenneth Pattengale level charisma).
The Milk Carton Kids returned to the stage to introduce their next song, “Monterey,” which is on the album of the same name. Apparently they do not play this one very often because Joey doesn’t like it, thinking it too long (it’s about 4 1/2 minutes). Kenneth noted that the last time they performed this song was a few years ago, and he fell asleep on stage during the middle of the guitar solo! This was when cancer was ravaging his body, but before he knew that was the case. He woke up to the sound of his drool hitting the guitar. Joey interrupted Kenneth a few times during the story, after which Kenneth noted to the audience, “Usually Joey commands the talking during the show, but it appears we hit a nerve of jealousy.” Kenneth also noted that this is one of the songs he owns himself because it was written before he and Joey agreed to split ownership of their songs 50/50.
After they finished the song, John came back on stage and proclaimed, “These guys are a miracle!” to enthusiastic applause from the audience. The duo left John on the stage, and he introduced Joe Kennedy to accompany him on the piano, saying “We are not going to play guitar after THAT.” Also noting that it has been a rough few days, but “We’re going to be fine.” I’m pretty sure there is not much better for actually making a person feel like everything is fine than to hear the sweet harmonies and carefully crafted guitar work of the Milk Carton Kids, followed by the sincere, full-voiced performance of John C. Reilly singing old standards. The Largo audience was about to be fine, if they weren’t already.
Announcing “I’m a real romantic, I’m going to sing some old-fashioned romantic songs,” John then gifted the Largo audience with four classics. He began by singing one he learned from Oliver Hardy, “Lazy Moon, Come Out Soon,” including an improvised soft shoe. Then Kenneth joined John and Joe on stage, adding guitar accompaniment, as John sang the eternally romantic, “La Vie En Rose.” At the end of the song he received rapturous applause. John responded, “Some people love dogs or cats, I love humans!” John also described humans as “flawed beautiful creatures,” which so perfectly suits the feeling of forlorn love that permeated that place as John performed the Irving Berlin song “What’ll I Do?” In an effort to “do something positive at the end of the set,” John, Joey, and Kenneth sang a three-part harmony version of “Blue Skies” complete with improvised “dancing” from the trio.
The next guest to take the stage was comedian and sometimes actor Nick Thune, who performed a stand-up act while strumming a guitar. Jokes were delivered staccato-like and in quick succession with little linking the content. One example of his sense of humor, “I asked a guy who looked really happy, ‘Sir, what is your secret to life?'” The response, “I’m 9 years old.” The rhythm of his set was smoother when he choose to tell a short story about raising his son and how when his son was five, a bird flew into a window of their house. The pair went outside to look at it and he realized his son didn’t know about death. Now, he was going to have to explain death to his child. He remarked it would be easier to gather all the birds in the neighborhood and explain windows. Nick mentioned that sometimes he got acting jobs and recommended that actors should read the script in advance for auditions. For one audition, he thought he’d do something to make himself stand out, so he brought his guitar along and created a little song based on the movie title, “Iron Man.” Instead of the song being about the superhero, it was about a guy who completes the swim, bike, run event (you can hear the recorded version at that YouTube link). Joey and Kenneth joined him with their guitars for accompaniment and background vocals.
The Milk Carton Kids played a couple more numbers on their own. We heard the achingly, world-weary, broken-hearted ballad, “Michigan,” which is the opening song on Prologue. The duo followed with the closing song from that same album, “I Still Want a Little More,” which featured Kenneth’s blazing fast guitar picking and resulted in more prolonged cheering and adoring applause when they finished it.
For the last number, Joey explained that they were going to perform an old song along with John C. Reilly. He emphasized how impressed he was by the songwriters, “How did they know so long ago that the message of the song would be so pertinent now?” The song they proceeded to play began with the lyrics:
“Satan is real, working in spirit
You can see him and hear him in this world every day
Satan is real, working with power
He can tempt you and lead you astray.”
John took on the duty of reading the ministerial middle section of the song, “Satan is Real.” And with that admonitory presentation, the show concluded, and the audience dispersed into the Los Angeles night feeling absolved of worries, if only for a short while. A few fans, friends, and family members of the Milk Carton Kids lingered in the Largo courtyard and were able to chat briefly and take a few photos with Joey, Kenneth, and John. What a splendid way to spend a Monday evening!
The Milk Carton Kids perform contemporary folk songs, sometimes lively, sometimes melancholy, but always thoughtful and beautiful. Support original music and smart musicianship by purchasing their albums!
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