There’s no question that my favorite place to go for a night of quality entertainment is Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, CA. The show I attended on December 19, 2019 is one shining example of why I love the place so much. That night the dynamic duo known as The Milk Carton Kids were holding their final Sad Songs Comedy Hour show of 2019.
None other than actor and indomitable Largo king of hosts John C. Reilly bounded on to the stage to welcome the audience and introduce The Milk Carton Kids. His appearance was brief, but there was more in store from him later in the evening.
The Milk Carton Kids began the show by playing two songs from their album All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do. First up was “Younger Years,” a stalwart example of their style of achingly beautiful harmonies matched with enigmatic poetic lyrics laced with perceivable vulnerability, and smart, gorgeous guitar fills from Kenneth. This was followed by the stunningly sweet and introspective “A Sea of Roses.”
Upon conclusion of the first two songs, Joey took a moment to speak to the audience: “Welcome to Sad Songs Comedy Hour Christmas Edition.” After discussing the content of the night’s material with the upcoming special guests backstage, Joey deemed the theme of the night to be, “A F*cked Up Christmas.” In keeping with this theme the pair had, as Joey posited, “kicked it off with two songs that affirmatively deny our belief in a savior.” For evidence, the “Younger Years” lyrics include the line, “The love inside our hearts is the only kind of savior we’ve been sent.” Joey explained that some people say, “There are no atheists in a foxhole…They never met Kenneth in a foxhole.” It was noted that this belief held true even “in the face of cancer” (which Kenneth conquered). “A Sea of Roses” includes the testimonial lines, “That is right, I don’t believe anymore than skies above, it’s just me and those I’ve loved under a blanket of roses.”
Mining from their most recently released album The Only Ones, the two men sang “I Meant Every Word I Said.” This song begins with the line, “I don’t want to fight anymore.” Kenneth explained that some people believe this is about the relationship between Kenneth and Joey. He denied this interpretation, saying, “No, it is about Joey’s marriage.” Joey looked momentarily abashed as he noted, “My wife is in the audience tonight.” Part of the draw of their live shows is to witness such on stage banter, as the two attempt to poke holes in each other’s armor in a never-ending game of often deadpanned, unmerciful one-upmanship.
For the next number, they performed an old local favorite, “Broken Headlights” which can be found on their Retrospect album, released before the two decided on a band name. With the frequent and heavy rain across the Los Angeles basin over the last few weeks, this was certainly an apt choice. Joey’s strong lead vocal swelled through the choruses as he appeared to get lost in the song — I haven’t seen him sway so much when singing before. I truly appreciated this pleasing and sincere rendition of a song which I had hoped would be played, but hadn’t actually expected to hear that night.
Guest comedian Jen Kirkman was then introduced to do her set. In keeping with the show theme, she described growing up in a middle class family planted among upper class neighbors, talked about her mother losing her religion, and revealed her own messed up Christmas story experienced at last year’s family Christmas gathering. I don’t usually go into too much detail of a comedian’s routine, as the material doesn’t translate so well into writing. If you are unfamiliar with Jen, you can check out a couple of her comedy specials on Netflix.
Earlier in the month, The Milk Carton Kids were guests at Aimee Mann‘s show at Largo and now she returned the favor. The singer-songwriter played a couple songs from her last record, Mental Illness. She started off with “Patient Zero,” also a locally set song, that finds its protagonist moving to town but coming up against the facade of possibility and opportunity. She followed this tune with a relatable, end of relationship song, “You Never Loved Me.” You can hear her sing some of the song at the show in the clip below.
The Milk Carton Kids returned to the stage as Aimee exited. Reaching back in time to their album The Ash & Clay, the duo play “Hope of a Lifetime” with the same gravity of the recorded version. It was a moment to reflect on the timeless beauty of both the lyrics of the song and the musical performance given by these two pros.
Then the Milk Carton Kids took a break from playing to sell a few copies of their most recent record from the edge of the stage. The album was offered to the audience members at whatever cash price they were willing to give, with the proceeds to be donated to charity.
As the audience pondered what could possibly happen next, Santa Claus appeared! Of course it was actually Mr. John C. Reilly returning to the stage for an amusing, uplifting monologue and a song. He remarked how he loves this time a year. That it is “the one time a year when you’re driving around and you’re like, human beings are all right.” This feeling is fostered by witnessing that people “give a sh*t about each other at this time of year.” Despite all of the disturbing things happening around the world and particularly in the U.S. government, with the “orange mess” currently in office, John urged the Largo audience to have heart. “We’re gonna keep being good people!” After his pep talk, John confidently delivered the traditional Italian song “Santa Lucia” accompanied by The Milk Carton Kids on guitar, his voice momentarily transporting us far away to imagined vacations in the Mediterranean.
Just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Pete Holmes took to the stage to deliver his stand up routine. I’ve seen Pete a few times already at Largo and he always makes me laugh. Not just a little giggle, but full belly laughs that can be felt through to the core and smiles so big my face hurts by the time he is done. Some combination of the looks that cross his face and the material he broaches shake my whole presence. He adeptly peppers one liners into his already entertaining stories, such as referring to the Denver airport as the Illuminati airport. He observes and mocks the stupidity and the absurdity of people’s actions freely (that night doing a dead-on impression of YouTube creators). He can do this so competently and make situations seem ridiculously hilarious, because you can imagine him being only a moment away from experiencing such dilemmas himself. Indeed, the stories are sometimes confessional in nature and absolutely uproarious. He completed his set leaving me wanting more.
Instead the night headed in the opposite emotional direction as Aimee Mann returned to play the piano and sing. She performed a new song from a record she is making, which is for a musical version of Girl, Interrupted. The song was titled “Suicide is Murder.” Need I say more? Quite a downer of a song and a stark contrast for immediately following Pete Holmes. Nonetheless, the lyrics were straight shooting, hard hitting, and a seemingly perfect fit for their future designated destination. Aimee was then joined on stage by Joey and Kenneth, as well as piano player, Evan Vidar, for her classic song, “Save Me” from Magnolia. This was a good follow up to the previous song as the two songs worked well together thematically as a couplet.
The Milk Carton Kids were left on stage together to perform another one of their lovely songs, “Monterey,” which comes from the album with the same title. On conclusion, Joey launched into a long discourse of Christmas vs Hanukkah as miraculous events, having a full understanding of both traditions given that he is half Jewish. Considering his propensity to divulge information and illuminate material, one wonders if Joey might have been a teacher if he weren’t a musician. I can easily imagine him coaching the high school debate team.
Joey introduced the next tune by talking about his children and his joy in observing them discovering the world, particularly his 6 year old son. The Milk Carton Kids performed a touching song that seemed completely new to me. When looking up the lyrics afterward, I learned it was “As the Moon Starts to Rise” from the recent album The Only Ones. This sentimental piece was off my radar because of a tech glitch that caused it to not properly download on to my iPod. So while I have heard all the other songs off the new album, I hadn’t heard this one. It was pretty special to be able to hear it for the first time live. When accompanied by Joey’s story, it was especially evocative of the days when my own boys had new experiences with that sense of wonder particular to young children. It recalls tender goodbyes, when impending absences are not so fully internalized and comprehended by the youngsters, with their sketchy grasp on time, in the same way that they squeeze the heart of the adult. I’ve selected the beginning line from this song as the post title, in honor of hearing the tune for the first time and because the night was filled with so much laughter.
One more old favorite from The Milk Carton Kids before the finale — we were gifted with “New York” from the album Prologue. All of the guests, minus Pete Holmes, returned to the stage for the final song of the night. Evan was once again at the piano to cover the music while everyone else on stage sang. John was in director mode as the audience was handed papers with the original lyrics to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. Beautiful group singing followed, a portion of which you can hear in the clip that follows. Nothing could have put me more into the spirit of the holiday season than that moment, when the voices of Largo’s patrons all joined gloriously in conviviality through song.
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