On a Sunday evening, the Fenway Park area of Boston was packed to the gills. Lead Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley was ecstatic, joking with the audience of MGM Music Hall, “All of these people are here for us!” Fenway Park next door was also a sold out show that evening as it turns out. BUT their own big venue was also sold out, so the neighborhood was buzzing with musical endorphins.
Lewis enjoyed using a Nickelback voice to address that with band touring, “it’s been a while.” After a 17 year hiatus away from the live stage, fans were incredibly ready for the reunion tour, dubbed the “SOMETIMES WHEN YOU’RE ON YOU’RE REALLY F**KING ON TOUR.” The tour name is inspired by lyrics of the song “Better Son/Daughter” from their 2002 album The Execution of All Things. As they started this namesake of a track, Lewis battled with meeting its pitch. As the ethereal song came into place, it was notably enchanting for the crowd.
Many fans were talking prior to their set about how much their music had meant to them. With lyrics that touch a nerve in their vulnerability, it isn’t hard to understand why. Lewis introduced many songs warmly as, “this old chestnut.”
At two phases of my life, I loved Rilo Kiley, and I loved the movie Troop Beverly Hills. When I connected that Jenny Lewis was at the helm of both—it was an epiphany with shock and jealousy present. This person is both a great actor and musician? Such a beautiful rarity, like bourbon and pickles. Great on their own—and incredible united as one.
As the band neared the end of their set, a fan audibly yelled out “I’m sad,” as they didn’t want the performance to end. “You’re sad?” The band’s guitarist Blake Sennett (also a solid actor!) asked wryly. “Well that’s what our music’s for! You’re in the right place!”
With a powerful string of openers across their national tour, Boston was treated to Natalie Bergman. The singer-songwriter played largely from her new 2025 album, My Home Is Not In This World. The sophomore solo from Third Man Records blends genres with Bergman’s voice guiding an authenticity throughout.
Rilo Kiley
Natalie Bergman
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Show Review: Rilo Kiley at MGM Music Hall in Boston, MA – New Noise Magazine
