Evan Dando and Keith Richards and Kate Moss and Johnny Depp and Enya and ...

In my book, Evan Dando of Lemonheads fame only has one mark against him - his terrible It's A Shame About Ray 30th Anniversary show with Juliana Hatfield at Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club earlier this year.

Otherwise, he is one of my all-time favorite singers and songwriters. I stumbled upon a brilliant 2019 New York Times feature by Alex Williams about him that is loaded with nuggets that all Lemonheads fans will want to read if they missed it. Check out these highlights:

• "He partied with Keith Richards and Johnny Depp and mugged in paparazzi shots with Kate Moss."
• In a 1993 profile, Dando "perched poolside in Hollywood, mired in a depressive bout “as black as it is bottomless,” ... "Unable to speak, on doctor’s orders, he was only able to scrawl 'sorry, substance abuse' on a yellow notepad."
• He toured with "New Age chanteuse Enya, but it ended badly when he called her out for growing a beard."
• Speaking of his Varshons and Varshons 2 albums, Dando said, "I felt like it was sort of funny to wait 10 years and do another cover album, like I’m the biggest slacker of all time."
• "The former prep school student who managed four Fs and one D- in his one semester at Skidmore College."
• "With his surfer-ish looks, whimsical attitude and taste for LSD, which he said he began experimenting with in early high school, he seemed more like a hippie-era troubadour than a Generation X nihilist."
• Dando became a teen idol and said, "I was actually celibate for eight months, at the height of it. It just got to the point where, this isn’t fun, different chicks every night."
• "Angelina Jolie appeared in the Lemonheads’ 'It’s About Time' video." 
• "Courtney Love popped up in tabloid shots kissing Mr. Dando, not long after her husband, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide, although both denied they were romantically involved."
• "He joined the hard-partying members of Oasis on tour during their mid-’90s peak."
• He "was tight with Johnny Depp, who appeared in the 'It’s a Shame About Ray' video. "We hung out together for like six months, just at his house,' Mr. Dando said of the actor. 'We would lie together. We called it 'sidewinding.' We’d take Xanax and, like 5-year-olds in the same bed, talk all night. We were really good buds until I slept with his girl.'"
• After stints in a mental hospital and multiple rehabs, Dando "is aware that the Evan Dando death watch started decades ago, as with his friend Keith Richards. Both are still here."
• But, he added, "I have some crazy luck and all my friends will tell you that. I caught a thousand-pound black marlin the first five hours. People say they go five years without seeing a fish that big. I got a hole-in-one once at golf. I’ve played golf three times."
• "Whenever he feels desperate, a royalty check seems to arrive, like when Martin Scorsese used the Lemonheads cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Mrs. Robinson' in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013. 'It’s like every time I’m about to hit the skids, some 80 grand check comes in from Nowheresville.'"

So along with his music, there are endless reasons to like this riches to riches to rags/riches character.

Soul Asylum Leads Classic Indie Bands in Rocking Night at 9:30 Club

I was 22 years old back on November 12, 1992 the first time I saw Soul Asylum with The Lemonheads. So it was pretty meaningful last week when I saw them almost exactly 20 years later at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.

That first show was the second night of Soul Asylum's Grave Dancers Union tour and, from the first row of Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, I was mesmerized by Winona Ryder's boyfriend Dave Pirner (pictured) leading his band through a set that was far more rocking than any fair-weather MTV viewer could guess possible based on their mega-'90s rocking-ballad hits "Runaway Train" and "Black Gold."

Pirner still has the long hair that gives him a slight resemblance to a healthy-era Axl Rose, but any original members of Soul Asylum other than him could not be found on this night. I thought that was going to be a problem, but Justin Sharbono has replaced founding member (and his cousin) Dan Murphy on guitar and performed more than admirably. Those licks must be in the family blood.

Michael Bland, longtime Prince and Paul Westerberg drummer (and Minneapolis legend), pounded the drums in unison with Winston Roye on bass. Soul Asylum is still very loud, especially with blaring numbers like "99%" and "April Fool."

But it was difficult to detect any drop-off from '92 when it came to the shows highlights: "Without a Trace" was undoubtedly the best rowdy pop song the band played. "Somebody to Shove" and "Summer of Drugs" were my other favorites, although it was pretty tough to deny the lovability of the aforementioned "Black Gold" and "Runaway Train."

Soul Asylum: **** out of ***** stars

1. Growing Into You 
2. 99% 
3. Misery 
4. Marionette 
5. Little Too Clean 
6. I Will Still Be Laughing 
7. Summer of Drugs 
   (Victoria Williams cover)
8. Black Gold 
9. Without a Trace 
10. I Did My Best 
11. Just Like Anyone 
12. Gravity 
13. The Streets 
14. Never Really Been 
15. Runaway Train 
16. Closer to the Stars 
17. Somebody to Shove 
18. April Fool 

Evan Dando of The Lemonheads walked out from backstage after that '92 show in a red velvet smoking jacket and signed my chest. None of us will probably ever get back to that spot in our lives, so Dando had a long way to go to ever play a show as great as that one long ago. Plus. he only played with his trusty electric guitar and no backing band at last week's show.

That said, the man writes great tunes and any fan of this blog knows that I stand firmly behind claiming he is one of the very best songwriters of the past 30 years. He ripped through a bunch of songs and was entirely pleasant, but not as great as he can be with a full band in a smaller club.

Evan Dando: ***1/2 out of ***** stars

Fountains of Wayne was the headliner. I've always loved this band but this was the first time I've seen them in concert. They too were verging on pleasant but not mind-blowing; however, I headed down from the balcony to the floor and the sound and vibe improved dramatically. The band soon won me over and created many magical moments within their sometimes samey-sounding songs.

But even when the songs sometimes bled into each other, the witty wordplay, talented guitar licks, and heavenly harmonizing kept it fun. Some of my favorite numbers included "I've Got a Flair," "I-95," "Mexican Wine," and "Someone to Love." And, of course, the show ended with crowd-pleasers "Radiation Vive" and "Stacy's Mom."

Fountains of Wayne: ***1/2 out of ***** stars

Magnet Prints My Letter About Evan Dando of The Lemonheads

In this day and age in which I get almost all my magazine subscriptions and books on my iPad, it's still somehow thrilling when a magazine arrives by snail mail.

My very favorite magazine, a music-related one called Magnet, arrived the other day and I was reading the letters-to-the-editor section when ... lo and behold ... halfway through reading one letter, I glanced down at the name of the writer and it was ... me!

I had completely forgotten even writing the letter. This is the second time since Magnet recently rebooted as a monthly (rather than six times a year) that a letter of mine has been published. I was making the case for Evan Dando of The Lemonheads to get a little more love for his brilliant pop art, despite a semi-incoherent recent interview he granted to Magnet.

Here's my letter, and thanks for printing it, Magnet!

I'm not sure Neil Ferguson's piece on Evan Dando is totally fair, although I like his quote from Ben Lee about how the Lemonheads' leader's voice is beautiful honey reminiscent of Frank Sinatra. Dando is no doubt quirky and eccentric, but that is simply part of the many allures of the man and his vastly underrated musical legacy. I've hung out with Dando several times after shows and he is a total sweetheart. He even let me play his acoustic guitar after a show last year in Arlington, Virginia. It's refreshing to see a rock star act curmudgeonly and "real" around a fine journalist instead of spouting athlete-like cliches.

Lemonheads Return With a Glimpse into a 1992 Classic Album

Coming up on 20 years since the release of The Lemonheads' indie-pop 1992 classic, It's a Shame About Ray, it was moving to relive that year the other night at the Black Cat in D.C., with leader Evan Dando and his gang rollicking through a lengthy set with the full album serving as the first part of the evening.

Other than some sound problems for the first three or so songs, with Evan's guitar being too low in the mix, the music sounded great and Evan, who has had his ups and downs over the years, seemed to be in pretty good shape and form. (Apparently this wasn't the case two nights later in New York.)

Some people disagree that he was in fine form. And maybe I'm just too much of a sucker for the dozens of classic songs he and his three-piece band played. (Incidentally, the drummer and bassist were very strong and looked quite a bit like Ray-era bandmates David Ryan and Nic Dalton.) Still, I will admit that this band is by no means anywhere near the prime it was in throughout the early 90s. (I mean, check out this performance on Letterman. They could really throw down, and I even remember talking to Evan one time after a Soul Asylum/Lemonheads show at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis while he was wearing that ridiculous red jacket.)

I spoke with Evan briefly after Friday night's show and he was personable, in good spirits, remembered hanging out with me last year at Iota and letting me play his guitar, and spent some time seriously making out with one of his merch girls (while a line waited to buy shirts, open-mouthed and gawking). He also was very open to taking photos with his fans, as pictured here with some guy (and his favorite merch girl).

**** out of ***** stars