If you are planning to see the Christmas show on Aimee’s tour, there might be spoilers in this post. Check Aimee Mann’s Website for dates and venues.

This was no doubt our last concert for 2008. As we stood outside the beautiful art-deco Wiltern Theater Saturday night, me with my two cameras, one of the venue people came out and announced that no cameras would be allowed inside. The day before when I called and talked to a live human being, it had been OK. So the cameras went back to the car, and I got no photos of this show. That’s why these pictures are from last year’s show.

This made for a much lower-key event, which apparently was what Aimee Mann had in mind. She and her band tip-toed out onto the dark stage under the tinkling notes of the Nutcracker Suite’s Sugar Plum Fairy. The first number they played was one of the prettiest of the non-traditional Christmas songs I know, written by Mann herself:

1. Calling On Mary from One More Drifter In the Snow (2006) [Buy]

2. “Sleighride” with Nellie McKay, looking more like a spring daffodil in bright yellow and white than a sugar plum fairy, and Grant Lee Phillips in a snowman costume.

Cut to the first in a series of short movies. Tim and Eric from Adult Swim helped Aimee make this Christmas Carol spoof, where Aimee plays a slave-driver Scrooge to her band. One segment starred John Krasinski as the ghost of Christmas Present.

3. “Snow Miser” from the movie The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974).

Next comedian Patton Oswalt did a long, hilarious act that began with the excruciating details of the creepiest Christmas song ever, “Christmas Shoes.” Aimee returned to perform:

4. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” from One More Drifter In the Snow (2006)

Afterwards, she left and Nellie McKay came back and performed three songs.

4. “Take Me Away” — performed to a bizarre 50’s sci-fi film or TV show.
5. “Mother of Pearl”
6. A Christmas Dirge

 

Aimee returned with glasses on, saying she had had to take out her contacts even though she thinks glasses are not sexy. She was joined in the next two songs by the surprise live appearance of John Krasinski.

7. “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
8. “Winter Wonderland”
Both from One More Drifter In the Snow

This video was taken by Ed Wang, whom we met at the Troubadour a long time ago, and I’m sorry we missed seeing him. [See more of his videos here]

Krasinski comments that his voice is “terrible,” but actually he is not bad at all.

Mann said it was time for some non-Christmas songs and performed two songs from the Magnolia movie soundtrack [Buy].

9. Save Me
10. “Wise Up”

Patton Oswalt returned to read a letter requesting that Willie Nelson sing Aimee’s song with Til Tuesday, “Voices Carry.” This was the cue for Grant Lee Phillips to repeat last year’s impersonation of Nelson, which is so spot-on I didn’t mind seeing it repeated.

11. “Voices Carry” from Voices Carry (1990) [Buy]

Grant-Lee Phillips as ‘Willie’ 

Next came another comedy spot with Lt. Jim Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior of Reno 911. After this sketch, which was a little too long and thin, there was another repeat from last year’s show: Aimee and Grant-Lee did their rendition of:

12. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

 

Grant-Lee performed these alone:
13. “Old Fashioned Christmas” — Grant Lee said this was a Jimmy Webb song, but I have not been able to confirm that.
14. “Winter Glow” — I believe this is a song recorded by Robert Roger [iTunes].

The Hannuka Fairy was on next, chugging a bottle of wine like last year, but this time she had a bulge under her leotard. She’s pregnant! Her explanation of who the father is and how this happened turned into:

15. The Immaculate Conception rap

Morgan Murphy as the Hannukah Fairy 

Parts 3 and 4 of Aimee’s Scrooge movie followed, part of which was a casting interview with Michael Cera where he was willing to play any part except Tiny Tim. The Ghost of Christmas Shows To Come turned out to be actor John C. Reilly costumed like the Grim Reaper. Watch for the price tag on his scythe. Finally, Aimee and her band played something from her latest album, @#%! Smilers [Review], which seemed conspicuously missing from the show so far. This was followed by two more from previous albums.

16. “Freeway” from @#%! Smilers (2008) [Buy]
17. “Going Throught the Motions” from The Forgotten Arm (2005) [Buy]
18. “Long Shot” from I’m With Stupid (1996) [Buy]

The last was done nicely, but was there some kind of message to the audience in it?
You fucked it up
You should have quit
‘Till circumstances
had changed a bit

Then encore gathered Aimee, the band, Grant-Lee, and Nellie back onstage for the last song:

19. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

We were back out on the street at 10:30, an early night. In sum, this show was more relaxed, more varied, and packed less surprise punch than last year’s–it’s really hard to match having Jackson Browne as a surprise guest. I personally would have liked the show to have more focus on musical guests, but Oswalt is extremely funny, and watching Michael Cera beg was funny too.

Filed under: concert, holiday, video, Aimee Mann, Christmas, Grant Lee Phillips, John Krasinski, Nellie McKay, Wiltern

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