Palace Ball: Jenny Lewis’s Joy’All Rolls Through Minnesota

Last updated on March 28th, 2024 at 12:03 pm

Sparkly stage. Bouncing Balls. Jenny Lewis brought singing, style, and swagger to the Palace Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota for a Joy’All Ball Tour concert visit.

Opening the show was Hayden Pedigo. Deeply in contrast to Lewis’s more flashy style, Pedigo sat on a single spotlight set in a steel folding chair you would find in a school auditorium. He opened by saying he has only played live for about a year, and it began because of Jenny Lewis. 

He also discussed his fear of playing live, yet he spoke at length between performances, whether about his life in Amarillo, Texas, or musical thought process. This was also in deep contrast to his songs: solo guitar playing with no lyrics, just melodic strumming. The songs also had many long pauses—so many that he commented he would indicate when the song was actually done.

For projecting nervousness and not singing, he was incredibly comfortable talking to the crowd. He even asked the crowd to envision a song as a theme to an “apocalyptic Western.” And his tracks played like perfect soundtracks you would hear in such a movie.

The antithesis of his understated dark, black stage was Lewis’s illuminated, red tinsel, multi-instrument set. The singer took the stage hand-clapping to an extended guitar intro to “The Big Guns.” The opening took off even further, along with the crowd, from her guitar playing in “Psychos” to a chorus singalong for “Do Si Do.”

As for the crowd, many dressed in Jenny Lewis’s style, including hats, which was perhaps a bit of a logistic challenge for a tightly-packed Palace Theater crowd. Lewis asked the crowd who “had the best lettuce,” as there were also many rocking brushed-out styles with bangs. Lewis, herself, rocked a jeweled jumper and scarf.

The setlist combined tracks from her recent Joy’All album along with canonical songs like “Heads Gonna Roll,” “Red Bull & Hennessy,” and “Just One of the Guys.” The crowd was especially excited for “Puppy and a Truck,” which is sure to be a setlist staple going forward. Though unlike previous tours, the puppy did not make a phone call during the performance.

Depending on the song, Lewis sang while playing guitar or keyboard. But at times, she ramped up her performance and was more in the spotlight. For example, during her closing of “The Next Messiah,” Lewis sang on an elevated platform with a fan blowing through her hair—very fitting for some rocking guitar and soulful singing.

For the last few songs, and keeping to the “Ball” theme, Lewis released a bunch of giant light-up balls for the crowd to joyfully bounce around. At least one made its way out of the theater with a happy concertgoer. For her closing of “Acid Tongue,” her bandmates set aside their instruments and joined around a guitar-playing Lewis to harmonize to the song’s chorus. 

And that’s the joy of a Jenny Lewis concert. There are country influences on newer tracks; she even shouted out John Prine for being the “best of the best” after “Love Feel.” Other times, songs were performed with pop-star fun. This night in Saint Paul, Minnesota, it was a ball for all.