MJ Lenderman’s triumphant past 6 months kept rolling as he brought his band The Wind and breakthrough record Manning Fireworks to The Fonda in Los Angeles for two sold out shows.

A sold out show is nothing new to Jake Lenderman these days. Scrolling through his tour dates, it’s hard to find a stop that hasn’t been sold out months in advance. This would be pretty hard to believe when he was just known as “the guitarist in the band Wednesday who also makes some pretty good solo stuff”. That all changed with the release of Manning Fireworks last September.

Powered by a collection of instantly catchy, funny, and reflective singles, Lenderman’s latest record has struck a chord with Pavement worshipping millennials and post-irony Gen Z. That crowd was in luck on Friday night, as he and his band buzzsawed through the entire record, with each track having its own live touch.

One would expect his heavier tunes to take off more in a live setting, but instead the songs with a softer touch were the most memorable. “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In”, a tender and airy cut on Manning Fireworks, felt particularly lovely and heartfelt. “Rip Torn” and its ridiculous lyrics provided a nice platform for Lenderman’s strong vocal performance. “TLC Cagematch”, a Lenderman classic off an earlier record Boat Songs, is bound to always be a set staple with its bittersweet sing-along chorus. A surprising inclusion was the less known cut “”No Mercy”, a 2019 song with less than 50,000 streams on Spotify. Jarringly direct and melancholic lyrics would almost make you wonder if it was a cover if you didn’t know the song (and because if his propensity to play covers). It absolutely soared live, with Lenderman even admitting after that he got chills playing it.

Two exceptions to this were the two-minute banger “SUV” and encore favorite “Knockin’”. Both of these tracks erupted off stage. The former showed vocal diversity and range that you don’t see Lenderman use often.

After two hours, MJ Lenderman and the Wind left the stage to embark on the rest of their lengthy world tour. As a fan, it was everything you could have hoped for. Good luck getting a ticket, though.

Review & Photos by: Andrew Ameter

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MJ Lenderman Sells Out 2 Perfect Nights at LA's The Fonda Theatre