Concert Caveats: Jon Brion

April 23. 8:30 p.m. Largo at the Coronet. The dim yellow lighting of an intimate, hole-in-the-wall venue is reminiscent of an old coffee shop run by Yoda and inhabited by flowery, philosophical inquirers. Past performers, Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, etc., plaster the plain beige walls as they sit at the piano, or hold a microphone, or gaze at the camera, living in a perpetual state of performance. The room is modest, but the audience pretentious. The stage adorned with royal red curtains, straddled by Christmas lights twinkling like little stars.

Jon Brion, famous for his quirky soundtracks for many a wisely elected films, Punch Drunk Love, I Heart Huckabees, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and of course, some of Kanye West's stuff, is delightfully sarcastic and sufficiently satirical. With a messy brown mane and a tan suit, he sports a slight European accent. Even without words, his mannerism is, quite funny. After a brilliant opening by guitarist Alain Johannes, Jon Brion blows me away. He first plays some of his own creations, prancing from piano to drums to bass to, my personal favorite, harmonica. Accompanied by strange background visuals (for ambiance, I'm assuming), he asks for song suggestions, proving his musical improvisational adeptness, and moves on to "jigsaw puzzling", where he loops segments of different instruments, first a drum beat, then piano and guitar tunes. He finalizes with vocals and culminates the entirely experimental song in a QUASI-MUSICAL ORGY.

So, if you're horny for worthwhile music, Jon Brion plays every month at the Largo. And let me tell you, the man is talented with his instruments.