By Brittany Ward
Aug. 29, 2018
Tuesday night, a cool night, giving Lincoln a taste of the coming fall weather. Jenny Parrott and husband, Gary Newcomb, took the Zoo Bar stage. If the name rings a bell, Parrott is part of the band Shotgun Party, who have performed at the Zoo Bar before. Despite not being a stranger to Lincoln, this was the first performance since releasing her debut solo album When I Come Down.
It was an intimate setting with the couple taking stage with a keyboard, both an acoustic and electric guitar and their voices. The crowd was small but that didn’t stop the duo from performing an amazing set, brimming with both soulful and high-energy tunes. The duo performed many favorites, both new and old, such as “Indian Times” from the new album (a personal favorite).
Before ending the first set Parrott asked, “how about a sexy blues song, steeped in metaphor so you have to search for the meaning or else you’ll think it’s about dancing,” then leading into the classic tune by Joe Turner, “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”
Parrott greeted the crowd ahead of the second set, “Welcome back to happy hour with Jenny Parrott and Gary Newcomb.”
The second set payed a tribute to a friend and fellow musician, Izzy Cox, who passed last year. Parrott attributed Cox as inspiration to many of her songs. The two went on to play “Holy Needles,” from the album Shotgun Party, as well as a song about being on the road, “Braided Updo.” Parrott also confessed her love for the “creepy shows” like Crime Watch Daily and podcasts that cover the same topics that inspired a “creepy” song.
With her guitar giving a little feedback, Parrott joked “my guitar doesn’t know when the song is over. No one taught her.”
Newcomb replied “Finally! There’s a buzz around my work!”
The duo was full of jokes and had fun talking about the crazy tour they’ve had. They mentioned that it was pouring rain and flooding in Madison, WI, (where they played the night before) as well as their whole drive down to Lincoln. The crowd was very involved with the performance, singing along when asked, requesting songs and jokes, to which the duo graciously obliged.
Recently married and going on a jammed-packed few weeks of touring around the country, the tour is reaching an end. With stops in Laramie, WY, Boise and Kuna, ID before making their way back home, here’s hoping that the weather is clear and there are no more wild storms.
For more information, updates on the tour, where to find her music, check out the website or Facebook page.
[flickr_tags user_id="kzumradio" tags="JennyParrott2018"]
Brittany Ward is a multimedia intern with KZUM.
