Jordana’s Nashville stop on the “Lively Premonition Tour” made for a cozy, fun and whimsical first concert for me at The Blue Room. I’ve been frequenting The Blue Room’s next-door store, Third Man Records, for about a year now to get my film developed; seeing the people gathered outside of The Blue Room, usually around a new marquee sign, I was always intrigued. Now that I have been to a show, I’m sure it won’t be my last.
The Blue Room was a perfect venue for Jordana — its ambiance mirrored her energy. A (literal) huge elephant in the room, carpets covering the performance space and curved, “corner-less” walls all contributed to a cozy and playful feel. Of course, the performance space was illuminated in blue. Outside of the performance space, there were grassy sitting areas tucked between brick and wood walls, lit by candles.
After hanging out and taking pictures with the elephant, my night began with Jordana’s opener, Rachel Bobbitt. A Canadian native, Rachel and her band started the night off with a low-key set and a beautiful voice. She was conversational with the crowd, asking for hot chicken recommendations and making jokes about (attempting) a dry January.
Between sets, the crowd all sat on the ground for a few minutes. I took the opportunity to get some free water from the box office. While there I witnessed a moment between a woman knitting behind the box office counter and a concert-goer. They were connecting over the public library system — how nice it is to rent free stuff and print for free. I smiled at them and reflected on how beautiful intimate concerts are in their ability to facilitate small but meaningful moments of fellowship between strangers.
Jordana’s set began with her single “We Get By” from her new album “Lively Premonition.” The upbeat track features a violin solo that Jordana performed on a deconstructed, electric violin. She played it effortlessly and looked cool doing it.
The night continued with Jordana playing the rest of the tour’s namesake album in order. The first of my favorite songs was “Heart You Hold.” It is about growing up, but unlike most of my comfort growing up songs, it made me feel hopeful and uplifted.
“Run while you can still carry all of the heart you hold,” Jordana sang. “You’ve got all the seconds in the world to figure out who you are.”
The song is laid-back but fun, with refrains of “la”s. I’d describe most of the album in this way, too — laid-back, but fun. The song ended with a beautiful violin outro. It left me with a smile on my face, grateful for the life of opportunity I have ahead of me.
Another of my favorite songs Jordana performed was “Multitudes of Mystery.” When Jordana introduced the song, she disclaimed that there was a “bit” involved. Turns out, there was a phone conversation interspersed in the song between a girl and a guy who invited her and her friends to a party. In those parts of the song, Jordana turned her back to the crowd to have the “conversation.” I’ve never seen an artist perform a song like this, and it was fun to watch. At the end of the track, Jordana collapsed on the ground in a dramatic fashion, which was “the drugs kicking in,” as she clarified after the bit ended. This song certainly had that mystical and fun quality to it that I loved from the show.
Another big takeaway from the night for me was how effortlessly funny Jordana was. I think this is because we share a sense of humor. She filled the space between songs with off-hand comments in funny voices and referred to herself as “me and my goons.”
Third Man Records next door was founded by Jack White, and Jordana joked that “Jack White lives in the attic, right?”
Jordana’s irreverent and quirky sense of humor paired with a long floral dress reminiscent of a Victorian-era nightgown build up her inviting presence. She felt like a friend to me.
After she played through “Lively Premonition,” Jordana stayed on stage for an encore. She told the crowd she doesn’t believe in leaving the stage for an encore and coming back on.
“That’s an ‘in’ for 2025,” Jordana said.
The encore consisted of a cover of Steely Dan’s “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” and three popular tracks from her 2021 album “Summer’s Over” with T.V. Girl.
As I walked out of the venue, I squeezed through a group of people to get out to the street. After I emerged, I realized that Jordana was among the group — she was meeting and talking with fans by her merch table. After this moment, it was clear to me just how genuine and down-to-earth Jordana is with her fans. I left the show in a good mood, with a “Lively Premonition” that I’d be coming back for more of Jordana’s music soon.
