I don’t normally go to tribute shows, but the Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. show at the Black Cat Friday evening was different. This wasn’t a cover band playing Jason Molina’s songs. Will Johnson, who handled lead vocals, made an album with Jason (Johnson & Molina), and he played with Jason’s band, The Magnolia Electric Co. It was an intense marathon of a show, two sets plus encores, that covered the breadth of Molina’s catalog.
Molina’s music speaks to me in a very specific way. He grew up in Lorain, Ohio, a declining industrial city west of Cleveland. I grew up about an hour away, in the suburbs of Akron, a city similarly affected by the decline of Rust Belt (in particular, the rubber companies moving their manufacturing to the South and overseas.) The references in his music to northeast Ohio, to its places, atmosphere, culture, and sports (he was a big baseball fan) are familiar and resonate with me. We also both attended Oberlin College.
Molina was prolific, releasing a large number of albums under the moniker Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electic Co., Amalgamated Sons of Rust (with Will Oldham and Alisdair Roberts), with Will Johnson, and under his own name. His music fused the heaviness of Black Sabbath (he grew up playing in metal bands) with the melancholy gothic country of Townes Van Zandt. He’s influenced a number of current artists, including Kevin Morby, Waxahachee, MJ Lenderman, and Glen Hansard (who made an EP of his songs).
Watch Magnolia Electric Co. perform “Hold On Magnolia” live for Alabama Public Television on YouTube:
Unfortunately, Molina’s story is a tragic one. He developed severe alcoholism, which curtailed his career and eventually led to his death from multiple organ failure. His story is told in Erin Osmon’s excellent biography, Riding with the Ghost.
Given that backstory, as well as the dour (to put it mildly) nature of Jason’s songs, this could’ve been a bleak evening on April 10, but it wasn’t. The tone was more celebratory, with Johnson and the members of Molina’s band telling stories about his life and the good times, rather than dwelling on his demise. They shared how, before one show at the Black Cat, they had Ethiopian food, which caused Jason some degree of stomach upset. He asked if someone could get him a ginger ale, tossing his wallet to a volunteer, who came back with his beverage. There was laughter about how they last played these songs 17 years ago, in 2009, playing the Black Cat on the day Josephine came out — an album that Pitchfork, in its infinite wisdom, gave a 5.5. Johnson, for his part, talked about how he and Jason “spent 10 days together and made a really cool record.”
The passion of Molina’s fans was evident, too, from the massive line that formed to buy merch as soon as doors opened. I’ve never seen anything approaching it; his work continues to inspire a devoted following that one might even a call a cult. His work attracts a certain sort of fan: sitting next me to was a young man, too young to have heard this music when it originally came out, who was reading David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest.
The show got off to a rousing start with what might be Molina’s signature song, “The Dark Don’t Hide It.” Over two sets and encore — for nearly three hours — they played songs from the various phases of Jason’s career: Songs: Ohia (“Blue Chicago Moon,” inspired by the city that was Molina’s home for a time, and where he recorded with Steve Albini; “Hot Black Silk;” “Just Be Simple,” which is perhaps ironic, given how complex he was;” “John Henry Split My Heart,” inspired by the old folk tale; “Blue Factory Flame,” which was written about his industrial hometown; “Hold On Magnolia;” “The Old Black Hen,” “Lioness;” and “Farewell Transmission,” which closed the second set), Magnolia Electric Co. (“Hammer Down;” “Hard to Love A Man,” a confession of how difficult he could be; “The Handing Down;” “31 Seasons In The Minor League,” which came from his love of baseball; “Talk to Me Devil, Again,” “Josephine,” “Leave the City;” “North Star;” “O! Grace,” and “The Big Beast”), and his collaboration with Johnson (“Wooden Heart” and “34 Blues”). For the encore, they played “Riding With The Ghost (the other contender for Molina’s signature song), “Texas 71,” and “Whip-Poor Will.”
Watch the official music video for “The Big Beast” by Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. on YouTube:
Of course, there’s an element of melancholy here, in that we lost Jason and everything he might still have done. Sadly, it’s all too common that we lose brilliant artists at far too young an age. The demands of a musician’s life, especially touring, spending long periods on the road, can make it difficult to manage mental health issues, which require stability and a support network. It’s a hard life for anyone, especially for those who struggle with their mental health — and many, maybe most artists, do. We are all, to quote Tom Waits, trying to keep the devil down in the hole.
I don’t want to end this review on such a down note, not when the show itself was spectacular. Jason’s songs are phenomenal, and Johnson and the Magnolia Electric Co. did a fantastic job of performing them. They reached deep into our souls. bringing us some of the magic that Jason created.
Visit Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. online for more music and tour dates!
