Chris DeLine

Starting her career as an actress and later moving into a role she still retains—vocalist for the L.A. rock band Rilo Kiley—Jenny Lewis faces the same issue that M. Ward, one of the many contributors on her latest album, Acid Tongue, was confronted with before his most recent tour. Like Ward’s, Lewis’s latest release features an abundance of friends and family members who contributed to various tracks on the album. The problem, then, comes in the form of a question: How will the songs that have been recorded with a number of other people translate to the live setting without their presence? Even more problematic is that, in the case of Lewis and Acid Tongue, the short list of contributors includes Elvis Costello and his band the Imposters, Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, and Zooey Deschanel. But if last month’s showing on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is any indication, Lewis is likely to follow the path of Ward and blow the audience away. Also performing will be Neko Case’s longtime backing band, the Sadies. 18+.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]