There’s always something about Jonathan worth listening to, especially in these troubled times. The troubadour of modern love (pictured above) carries on his affair with ice cream, roller coasters, dinosaurs, Spanish ballads, Paris, girls, and romance. His last record, Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow, was in the tradition of Richman’s simple odes to life and love, each song a masterpiece of a few chords, Tommy Larkins’ basic drumbeats, small flourishes of extra instrumentation and production, and always Richman’s direct, but somehow shy and even distant, vocals. There’s actually something sad and wistful in his seemingly simple, happy tunes, a larger reservoir of bereftness and despair, a sourness, upon which, at their best, his little ditties buoy him (and us) up. A deeper drama of bitterness, lost innocence and renewed hope lurks within the silly surfaces of Richman’s performances. Behind the goofy grin and nervous dancing tics is a melancholic magic, something full of twilights and dusty old vaudeville stages. Jonathan plays the early show at 7 p.m.; The Cherry Valence rocks out later in the night. For tickets and more info, call 831-1005 or visit kingsbarcade.com. $10, $12 day of.
